A cowardly thief, a baseball-bat swinging thug and a killer were among those locked up in Greater Manchester last week.
Mark Schofield attacked a 67-year-old woman with walking stick, stealing her handbag before running away. She was left seriously hurt. He was jailed for five years – as he was told that his late mother ‘died ashamed’ of him.
Baseball bat-wielding Anthony Corkovic – who burst into a couple’s home in a terrifying raid – also faced justice. And Kevell Blake was jailed for his part in the killing of Badri Issa in October 2023.
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Prison terms are handed out to the worst offenders. Manchester Evening News court reporters are on hand to cover the most serious cases.
These were the criminals locked up in our region last week…
Mark Schofield
Mark Schofield -Credit:GMP
A cowardly thief who robbed a vulnerable woman was told that his late mother ‘died ashamed’ of him.
Mark Schofield attacked the 67-year-old, who was walking to the shops with the aid of a walking stick, from behind. He wrestled her handbag from her before running away.
The woman was seriously hurt, suffering fractures to her knee, shoulder and ankle. Drug addict Schofield, 38, also burgled two flats in a living complex for the elderly where his mother lived. Manchester Crown Court heard that before her death, she had requested a restraining order from the court to prevent Schofield visiting her.
Before locking him up for more than five years, Judge Nicholas Dean KC told Schofield: “Very sadly I’m told that your mother has now died. It seems to me in a sense she has been a victim of your offending.
“It seems to me that you will have to live for the rest of your life in the knowledge that your mother, when she died, was ashamed of you. She wanted a restraining order so that you didn’t come back to see her. She died ashamed of you.”
Schofield, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to robbery and two counts of burglary. He was sentenced to five years and three months in prison.
Read the full story here: Criminal’s mother ‘died ashamed of him’ as ‘everyone in her block of flats’ talked about her
John Firth
John Firth -Credit:GMP/M.E.N.
A thieving couple repeatedly stole parcels, shoplifted and even exploited a kind-hearted friend to get their next fix.
John Firth, 45, and Aileen Cullinane, 35, were sleeping rough when a friend offered them a room for the night. The next morning they had left, and had taken her TV, make-up and prescription tablets.
Both were in the throes of a drug addiction, with Cullinane spending up to £60 a day on heroin, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Firth, who racked up a whopping 118 offences on his criminal record, had also stolen items including washing scent boosters and coffee to fund his addiction.
Jailing him, the Recorder of Manchester, judge Nicholas Dean KC told him: “If you continue the way you have been over the last few years you will either spend the rest of your life in prison or dead before you are 50.”
Firth pleaded guilty to five offences of burglary and five offences of theft; and Cullinane admitted four offences of burglary, one offence of theft and one offence of the possession of class A drugs.
Judge Dean sentenced Firth, of Brookhouse Avenue, Eccles, to 22 months in prison. “The fact is you are a prolific offender,” he said.
Cullinane, of Rodney Street, Salford, was handed 16 months imprisonment which was suspended for two years. She must attend the Woman’s Problem Solving Court, complete a 12 month drug rehabilitation programme and 20 days of rehabilitation activity requirements.
Read the full story here: A pal offered them a room for the night, the next minute the TV was gone
Anthony Corkovic
Anthony Corkovic -Credit:GMP
A couple were terrorised in their own home as masked men armed with baseball bats stormed in and attacked them.
The husband and wife were hit with a baseball bat after a gang of three broke into their home – a ‘semi-rural’ property in Ramsbottom, Bury. They had been watching a Manchester City game on TV when the ‘nightmare’ unfolded, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
“It’s the sort of thing you would see in a movie, but for us it was real life,” the woman later said. The gang fled with two Rolex watches, a wedding ring and cash.
One of them, 35-year-old Anthony Corkovic, was caught after his blood was found. He had bled after becoming embroiled in a struggle with the man, who stepped in to protect his wife.
Corkovic, of Murray Street, Salford, has been handed an extended sentence for public protection, of eight years in prison, and an extra four years on licence. He was told he will have to serve two-thirds of his eight year sentence before he can be considered for release.
Read the full story here: ‘Nightmare’ as masked men storm house armed with baseball bats in violent home invasion as couple watch Man City game
Michael Edge -Credit:GMP
A pervert who arranged to meet a ‘teenage girl’ for sex was caught out by paedophile hunters for a second time.
Michael Edge was jailed for a year back in 2018 for attempting to meet a 12-year-old girl after sending vile, sexualised grooming messages. He had to be locked up for his own safety after being confronted by hunters outside his own doorstep in Stockport. Angry parents descended on his home after seeing the ‘sting’ broadcast on Facebook.
Despite this, Edge was again caught trying to meet an underage girl for sex. During initial conversations with the ‘14-year-old girl’, who was actually an adult woman posing as a child, Edge sought to ‘gain assurances’ that he was ‘not being set up’.
He has now been jailed for two-and-a-half years after being hauled before a judge again.
Read the full story here: Pervert who arranged to meet girl for sex caught by paedophile hunters AGAIN
Ross Kenny
Ross Kenny -Credit:GMP
A dad who lost his job and found work difficult to come by ‘took the easy way out’.
Ross Kenny, 35, had worked as a kitchen porter but after losing his job during the Covid pandemic, he said he struggled to find work. Instead, over a 15 month period he became embroiled in cocaine dealing.
Police raided his home and discovered up to £3,000 worth of the class A drug, Manchester Crown Court heard. Prosecuting, Amy Weir said that police officers forced entry into Kenny’s home under a ‘firearms warrant’. During a search of the property, officers found a number of phones and just over 30 grams of cocaine.
Kenny, of Rosehill Close, Salford, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to supply cocaine, and one count of possessing cocaine. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.
Read the full story here: He ‘took the easy way out to make a fast buck’… it didn’t work
Kevell Blake
Kevell Blake was jailed for eight years
A man who claimed he tried to ‘steer clear’ of the violence surrounding him as a child is now in jail for killing a man.
Badri Issa was just 22-years-old when he was stabbed to death by Raami Mohamed on the evening of October 25, 2023. Mr Issa, who hoped to become a mechanical engineer, was heading to the gym with his pal Omar Jeylaani when Mohamed gestured to his friend to pull over into a lay-by in Moss Side.
Manchester Crown Court heard Mohamed and Jeylaani had previously been in a dispute over a car and, after stopping, the pair became involved in a stand-off. Mr Issa, acting as a peacemaker, got in between them and told them to ‘chill’. Riding as passenger, Kevell Blake, 21, also got out of the car and began fighting with Jeylaani.
Within two minutes, Mohamed pulled a knife and stabbed Mr Issa in the chest. Both Mohamed and Blake immediately fled the scene, with Mohamed dumping his phone, the knife and his clothes. They then took a taxi to Birmingham to meet a solicitor. Mr Issa sadly died later that night.
Following a trial in May last year, Mohamed was found guilty of murder. Blake was convicted of manslaughter, with prosecutors stating he ‘assisted and encouraged’ Mohamed in the killing.
On June 7, Mohamed was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years. Following a referral to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme on September 6, Mohamed was resentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years and 145 days.
Today, January 10, Blake was jailed for eight years, of which he will serve two thirds of the term in prison before being released on licence.
Read the full story here: He tried to steer clear from ‘unwanted trouble’ – then became a killer