A number of criminals have been punished for their crimes at Leeds Crown Court this week including a man who caused a woman to suffer a fracture in the neck after T-boning her car, two drug dealers who were busted when immigration services found a bag, and a man who received a football ban for an offensive chant at Elland Road.
Their sentenced range from fines to several years in jail, with two men facing more than six years behind bars.
Here are ten people who faced justice at Leeds Crown Court this week:
1. Besard Tabaku and Aliver Gosturani
Tabaku (left) and Gosturani were both jailed for dealing in cocaine after immigration officials found 507 grammes of cocaine, which was 90 per cent pure, in a bag. The bag also contained scales and dealer bags, Leeds Crown Court heard. The total weight of cocaine came to 841 grammes, while more than £11,000 in cash was also found between the bedrooms. Gosturani gave no comments during his police interview, but Tabaku said the money was from work, and claimed to know nothing about the drugs. This was despite his finger prints being found on the dropped bag. Gosturani was jailed for six years and Tabaku for six year and six months. Photo: WYP
2. Alan Cojoc
A female passenger suffered serious injuries when Alan Cojoc’s Mercedes Sprinter came out of the junction at speed on Foundry Approach in Harehills and “T-boned” the small white car in October 2021. He was jailed for 22 months, suspended for 18 months, was given 200 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for two years. Photo: National World / Google Maps
3. Robert Carr
Carr was seen by officers smoking a joint near to the Billy Bremner statue on the corner of Elland Road and Lowfields Road on March 19, 2021, Leeds Crown Court heard. The officers could smell the cannabis and so approached him. Carr admitted smoking a joint, but then ran off. He was eventually detained and was found to have a small bag of cannabis on him, along with six small bags of cocaine, which was estimated to be worth between £600 and £1,500. Carr has more than 30 convictions but only one previous for drug-related matters. He was jailed for 22 months, suspended for 18 months, given 15 rehabilitation days and a three-month electronic tag curfew. Photo: Google Maps / PA / Getty
4. Harry Keyes
Harry Keyes, aged 22, of Huddersfield Road in Mirfield, was arrested at the Elland Road football stadium at a match against Cardiff City on August 6 this year after police evidence showed him making aeroplane gestures, which was believed to be a reference to the death of Cardiff player Emiliano Sala, who died in a plane crash in 2019. Keyes pleaded guilty and was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Friday (December 8), where he was fined £107 in addition to £85 in prosecution costs and £43 in victim surcharge, as well as handed a three-year football banning order approved by court. Photo: Getty Images/National World
5. Jordan Bodally
A motorcycle thug led a gang who attacked a man and his family with bricks on the driveway of their own Leeds home. Jordan Bodally was at the forefront of the “nasty and frightening” incident on North Parkway in Seacroft, which eventually forced the victims to move house out of fear. Leeds Crown Court heard that a dispute between the victim and his neighbour had been simmering for around 18 months when words were exchanged on the afternoon of May 3 this year. The victim, along with his wife, mother, and two children, had been leaving their house at around 2pm. The neighbour beckoned over a gang of young men on motorbikes and scooters, prosecutor Stephanie Hollis said. Among them was 26-year-old Bodally, who was seen wearing a white crash helmet. Home CCTV played to the court showed the victim remonstrating with Bodally. Items including bricks were thrown at the man and his family during a five-minute skirmish. Bodally was jailed for three years for a burglary and the violent confrontation. Photo: WYP / Google Maps
6. Christopher Scales
Leeds Crown Court heard that Christopher Scales spent days sending a tirade of abuse over texts and calls to mother of his three children. The couple had been together 12 years but separated in June 2022. Scales was jailed in the for nine weeks for sending malicious communications to her, and was given a five-year restraining order to keep away from her. But on May 13 this year he began text messaging the woman and calling, prosecutor Michael Smith said. He sent 50 messages and called her 30 times over the next few days, repeatedly warning her about not having another man in the house. He called her names and made the vile comment about having AIDS. He was jailed for 30 months. Photo: WYP