Wrong-way A55 driver, high street cannabis farmers and ‘gunman’ among criminals jailed in July

A ‘gunman’ known as Wayne Ddrwg, cannabis growers and motorway fugitives were among offenders locked up in North Wales in July. Nicknamed “Bad Wayne” in English, this criminal, whose real name is Karl Jones, brandished a fake pistol.

In Bangor, two men were caught trying to escape from a £700,000 cannabis factory. And three Merseyside gang members raided homes from Gwynedd to Flintshire.

Many more offenders found themselves eating porridge. Here is a summary of some of those cases which shocked and appalled readers last month.

Tilly Lavelle

Tilly Lavelle, 19, of Sand Beach Hotel, Rhyl, was given a term of two years detention at Caernarfon Crown Court for wounding and six months, concurrent, for possession of a knife in a public place in Rhyl. (Image: North Wales Police)

A woman stabbed a man in the neck after he said he’d “had it” with her and her brothers. Jake Davies thought he had been punched in the neck but when he touched the wound his hand became “coated in blood”.

Tilly Lavelle, 19, had warned Mr Davies: “We are the Lavelles”. She then attacked him with a Stanley knife.^[2] She was given a term of two years in detention.

Prosecutor Sion ap Mihangel told Caernarfon ^[3] Crown Court ^[4] that Lavelle and Mr Davies had both been living in supported accommodation in a hotel in Rhyl. On February 20 they went to the Rhyl bandstand – opposite their hotel – with their own friends at 7.15pm.

Gary Hillman

Gary Hillman, 48, of Glan Y Fedw, Betws Yn Rhos, was jailed at Caernarfon Crown Court for 12 months for driving a motor vehicle dangerously. (Image: North Wales Police)

A drink driver drove the wrong way along the A55 ^[5] for nearly a mile after crashing his van twice. In one of the crashes airbags had been deployed, so he had to stick his head out of the window while travelling in the wrong direction.

A judge branded it a “horrifying” incident as he jailed Gary Hillman for a year. Oncoming motorists – including an ambulance on a 999 call – could not have imagined facing Hillman in that way and it was a miracle he didn’t injure or kill someone ^[6], he added.

Hillman, 48, admitted dangerous driving. Caernarfon ^[7] Crown Court ^[8] heard the defendant, who had been more than three times over the alcohol limit on vodka, had crashed his van in Llandygai.

Damien Crellin

Damien Crellin, 39, of Salisbury Street, Runcorn, was jailed at Caernarfon Crown Court for 28 months for causing serious injury by dangerous driving after a collision near Dolgellau. (Image: North Wales Police)

A dangerous driver took a bend too quickly before crashing head on into an oncoming car. Damien Crellin, who tested positive for cannabis, veered into the path of a family’s car on the rural road between Bala ^[9] and Dolgellau ^[10], injuring several people.

A court heard Crellin, 39, had overtaken a number of other cars and may have been trying to catch up with a group ahead before the collision on the A494 ^[11] on September 5, 2021. A woman at the scene asked one motorist, who had stopped, where she should “hide the defendant’s weed,”^[12] Caernarfon ^[13] Crown Court heard.

A judge condemned his driving as “aggressive, dangerous and selfish” and jailed him for 28 months for causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The court heard Crellin, of Salisbury Street, Runcorn, had been out for a drive around North Wales with his partner and her daughter that Sunday afternoon.

Aidan Quirk, Curtis Roberts & Daniel Doyle

Aidan Quirk, Curtis Roberts & Daniel Doyle (Image: NORTH WALES POLICE)

Three criminals who wreaked a trail of misery in burglaries across North Wales fled in a van going the wrong way along motorways in a 27-mile chase. The gang had raided empty houses from Gwynedd ^[14] to Flintshire ^[15] and were only stopped when brave police officers drove at their vehicle to halt it.

Officers had thrown a ‘Stinger’ in Deeside and the chase wasn’t over until the high speed van reached Cheshire, Caernarfon Crown Court heard. Even then the driver Aiden Quirk, 30, ran away until he was caught as a police helicopter filmed the dramatic pursuit along the hard shoulders of the M56 and M6.

His accomplices Curtis Roberts, 28, and Daniel Doyle, 28, were arrested in the white Ford Transit van. All three defendants are from Liverpool. A judge said it was a miracle that the driver Quirk hadn’t killed himself and his accomplices and members of the public ^[16] in the incident on February 6.

Anthony Preston, Lee Cole, Kenneth Houghton & Matthew McGrath

Anthony Preston, Lee Cole, Kenneth Houghton & Matthew McGrath (Image: NORTH WALES POLICE)

Four criminals who were part of a £2m gang bringing cocaine from Liverpool to North Wales have been jailed for a total of over 45 years. A judge said they caused immense harm to individuals and communities.

Police uncovered a luxury Rolex watch and secret compartments stashed with cocaine and cash in Renault Twingo vans during their investigation. The judge, who has already dealt with seven other conspirators, praised their work in a probe dubbed Operation Blue Cashel ^[17].

In total, the group was sentenced to almost 93 years in prison. Caernarfon ^[18] Crown Court ^[19] heard there were three organised crime groups – national, Liverpool and Wrexham based – supplying Class A and also Class B drugs and transporting them from Merseyside ^[20] to the Wrexham ^[21] area between January 1 and February 16 last year.

Karl Jones

Karl Jones, of Gallt Y Sil Estate, Caernarfon, was jailed for three years for possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. (Image: North Wales Police)

A Caernarfon thug known as ‘Wayne Ddrwg’ flashed a fake gun during a confrontation in a shop. Karl Jones brandished the imitation firearm in front of a man, possibly after a perceived slight.

The 41-year-old has now been jailed for three years at Mold ^[22] Crown Court, with a judge branding him a “playground bully”^[23] and saying the people of Caernarfon ^[24] needed a break from him. Jones had denied possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence but was convicted after a trial.

The court heard Jones visited the victim’s home on February 9 and February 12. The victim was out both times but Jones told the victim’s mother that he was going to kill her son.

Steven Sherlock

Steven Sherlock, 35, of Craig Heights, Old Colwyn, was jailed at Caernarfon Crown Court for 21 months for intentional strangulation. (Image: North Wales Police)

A man strangled his partner “for 30 seconds” after a row over money. Steven Sherlock had borrowed the cash from the woman but hadn’t paid her back and grabbed her throat during a row about it.

The woman recovered physically but suffers nightmares about her ordeal, Caernarfon ^[25] Crown Court heard. The 35-year-old admitted intentional strangulation and assault ^[26] and a judge jailed him for 21 months.

Prosecutor Richard Edwards told the court Sherlock, of Craig Heights, Old Colwyn ^[27], had been in an on-off relationship with the woman for four years. In February he was staying at her house.

Fatjon Tarja & Indrit Balliu

Fatjon Tarja & Indrit Balliu (Image: NORTH WALES POLICE)

Two men who were caught at a £730,000 cannabis factory on Bangor ^[28] high street have been jailed. The men, who were in the country illegally, claimed they were forced into tending to it by a gang and felt “uncomfortable” with the work, a court heard.

A judge accepted the Albanian nationals had not been the “brains” behind the large scale operation on the high street but jailed them for 20 months for producing cannabis. Prosecutor James Coutts told Caernarfon Crown Court that police executed a search warrant at a five-storey building on Bangor High Street on April 27 this year at 9am.^[29]^[30]^[31]

There used to be a restaurant on the ground floor. He said Fatjon Tarja, 32, and Indrit Balliu, 31, were caught trying to escape out of the back.

References

^{^} Body found on Anglesey beach identified as family say he was ‘taken far too early’ (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Tilly Lavelle, 19, had warned Mr Davies: “We are the Lavelles”. She then attacked him with a Stanley knife. (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Caernarfon (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Court (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} A55 (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} motorists – including an ambulance on a 999 call – could not have imagined facing Hillman in that way and it was a miracle he didn’t injure or kill someone (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Caernarfon (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Court (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Bala (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Dolgellau (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} A494 (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} A woman at the scene asked one motorist, who had stopped, where she should “hide the defendant’s weed,” (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Caernarfon (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Gwynedd (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Flintshire (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} A judge said it was a miracle that the driver Quirk hadn’t killed himself and his accomplices and members of the public (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} dubbed Operation Blue Cashel (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Caernarfon (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Court (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} three organised crime groups – national, Liverpool and Wrexham based – supplying Class A and also Class B drugs and transporting them from Merseyside (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Wrexham (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Mold (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} “playground bully” (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Caernarfon (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Caernarfon (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} The 35-year-old admitted intentional strangulation and assault (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Old Colwyn (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Bangor (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} judge accepted the Albanian nationals had not been the “brains” behind the large scale operation (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Caernarfon (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} five-storey building on Bangor High Street on April 27 this year at 9am. (www.dailypost.co.uk)