Coventry is no stranger to crime, and over the past 12 months we have seen people jailed for violent killings, stabbings, grooming and drug dealing. Two twisted thugs who brutally murdered an OAP, a knife gang, and a Snapchat predator were among the many criminals locked up in 2024.
Criminals have been jailed for a range of serious offences, including rape, knife attacks, and grooming. Sadly, there has been no shortage of killers either, with multiple homicide cases in Coventry.
Some of the cases sent shockwaves around the city and beyond. Evil Antoinette Sheppard and Kieron Spicer were just two of the twisted killers sentenced to years behind bars after they murdered ‘kind’ Coventry OAP Michael Brady.
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Thankfully, lengthy prison sentences have been passed, and these people are now safely behind bars where they belong. CoventryLive has compiled the most shocking incidents from the past year, with some of the culprits set to spend decades in jail.
Momoh Sesay, Arhin Tutu and Daniel Israel
Momoh Sesay, Arhin Tutu and Daniel Israel
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Gang Momoh Sesay, Arhin Tutu, and Daniel Israel were jailed for killing a ‘kind and empathetic’ Coventry dad. Marvin Warmington was brutally stabbed in a dispute over the theft of a shared bicycle in Gosford Green Park.
Sesay and Tutu were both found guilty of murdering Mr Warmington. Sesay was sentenced to 26 years in prison, and Tutu was jailed for 27 years, while Israel was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years in jail.
Patryk Kantor
Patryk Kantor
(Image: South Wales Police)
Predator Patryk Kantor, from Coventry, was jailed for using Snapchat to groom and sexually exploit a young girl from Cardiff. He drove 120 miles to meet the victim and drove her to an Airbnb.
When they were speaking on Snapchat, Kantor pretended to be 17 years old but was, in fact, 25. He was identified by CCTV and arrested in March 2024.
Kantor pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child, causing and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and meeting a child after grooming. He was jailed for five years at Cardiff Crown Court.
Ismail Hussain and Adam Mehmood
Adam Mehmood (Left) and Ismail Hussain (Right)
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Duo Ismail Hussain and Adam Mehmood were jailed for stabbing a 15-year-old boy in Coventry. He was lured to Kitchener Road in Foleshill on February 3, 2024.
Hussain, of Curzon Avenue, and Mehmood, of Durbar Avenue, repeatedly punched and stabbed the young victim before fleeing. Both were convicted of attempted murder and possession of a blade and sentenced to a combined 34 years in jail.
Nicholas Hughes
Nicholas Hughes
(Image: Cheshire Police)
Thief Nicholas Hughes was jailed for stealing more than £23,000 worth of valuable items from lockers at high-end leisure facilities across the UK. He was behind 14 thefts from hotels and gyms over the space of 16 months, starting in February 2023.
Hughes, of Guilsborough Road, Coventry, later defrauded a number of his victims out of more than £18,000. He was jailed for three and a half years at Birmingham Crown Court.
‘Brutal’ Coventry Gang
(Top L to R) Nzola, Akingbesote, Williams and Adabie (Bottom L to R) Grant, Ikwuemesi, Madmoune and Lhamy
(Image: West Midlands Police)
A Coventry gang was jailed for more than 75 years combined after a teenage boy was viciously stabbed. He was chased by the armed group during the early hours of October 6, 2023.
Bystanders found the 19-year-old victim on Upper Precinct with serious injuries. He had been chased and ‘brutally’ attacked by Prince Lhamy, Pious Adabie, Alexander Nzola, Jaiden Grant, Zachary Williams, Kennedy Ikwuemesi, Eniola Akingbesote, and Hossame Madmoune.
Detective Chief Inspector Adam Jobson, from Coventry LPA, analysed hours of CCTV in what was described as ‘one of the biggest’ investigations ever conducted. In July last year, the gang was jailed for the attack and received sentences ranging from four to 22 years, as reported by CoventryLive.
Antoinette Sheppard and Kieron Spicer
Antoinette Sheppard (Left) and Kieron Spicer (Right)
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Evil Antoinette Sheppard and Kieron Spicer were jailed for killing ‘kind’ OAP Michael Brady in Coventry in June 2023. Sheppard had befriended Mr Brady before she invited him to her property on Bowness Close.
Sheppard, 44, and Spicer, 17, then inflicted a ‘horrific series of injuries’ on Mr Brady, eventually killing the 74-year-old. His body was stuffed into a large TV box, which was then hidden in a shed.
CCTV then captured the twisted duo using his bank card to buy alcohol after withdrawing £300. Sheppard was jailed for a minimum of 30 years while Spicer was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in jail.
Artur Nowostawski
Artur Nowostawski
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Artur Nowostawski was jailed for ‘violently’ attacking a taxi driver in Coventry. In April last year, the 40-year-old was picked up by a taxi from Coventry Railway Station heading to Bennetts Road South.
Just before the end of the journey, Nowostawski attacked the driver with a knife, leaving him with serious injuries. He pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and possession of an offensive weapon and was sentenced to six years and nine months in jail.
William Brady
William Brady
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Twisted William Brady was jailed after fatally stabbing his ex-partner in Coventry. Brady stabbed ‘loving’ Pauline Sweeney at a property on Long Close Avenue in March 2024.
Brady and 50-year-old Sweeney had been inside the property together on the day the murder happened. Police were unable to establish a motive for the killing, but Brady was spotted by a neighbour standing outside the flat crying.
Brady, 57, was charged with murder, pleading guilty to the offence in September 2024. He was jailed for a minimum of 19 years at Warwick Crown Court.
Jia Xin Teo
Jia Xin Teo
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Student Jia Xin Teo, who was studying at Coventry University, was jailed after murdering her newborn daughter in the city in March 2024. Police were called to a property on Raglan Street and found the newborn stuffed inside a Cornflakes box, as reported by CoventryLive.
Teo, 22, later admitted that she had secretly given birth as she was ‘scared’ her family in Malaysia would find out, a jury at Warwick Crown Court heard. She was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years in jail.
David Cowan
David Cowan
(Image: West Midlands Police)
David Cowan was jailed for carrying out a spate of shoplifting offences in Coventry. He was also found to have breached a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) banning him from entering parts of the city, as reported by CoventryLive.
Sergeant Adam Lewis, from Coventry Police, said the 34-year-old showed a ‘constant disregard’ for the CBO and has now ‘paid the price.’ He was jailed for 42 months at Coventry Magistrates’ Court.
Sebastian Ross-Sturman
Sebastian Ross-Sturman
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Perverted Sebastian Ross-Sturman was jailed for making indecent images of children, as reported by CoventryLive. He was found to have uploaded Category A indecent images to the internet in 2021.
Police arrested the 39-year-old Coventry man in 2022. He admitted to making over 100 indecent images and videos of children and was sentenced to two years and six months in jail.
Dontae and Alize Anderson
Dontae (Left) and Alize Anderson (Right)
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Relatives Dontae and Alize Anderson were jailed after subjecting a man to a ‘terrifying’ ordeal in Coventry. Both men lured the victim to a city address before tying him up, blackmailing him, and then burgling his home in Essex.
Dontae and Alize ‘ambushed’ the victim before holding him captive for hours as they tried to demand thousands of pounds from him, Coventry Crown Court heard. He was then tied up and had a bag pulled over his head.
Police said the twisted duo then stole house keys belonging to the victim and travelled 120 miles to burgle his home in Essex. Dontae was locked up for seven years and two months, while Alize will spend two years and four months in jail.
Jordan Lee and Keanu Barnett
Jordan Lee (Left) and Keanu Barnett (Right)
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Jordan Lee and Keanu Barnett were jailed for using a drone to smuggle drugs into HMP Ranby in Nottinghamshire. Police uncovered the conspiracy when they raided a property linked to Barnett in Coventry.
Officers found a drone along with cannabis, tobacco, mobile phones, and a SIM card. Messages between Barnett and Lee were examined, revealing Lee had been travelling from his home in Northampton to meet Barnett in Coventry.
Enquiries also revealed a secret mobile phone being used by a prisoner, which contained details of bank transactions to both Lee and Barnett. In December last year, the pair were jailed for 18 months and 14 months, respectively, at Warwick Crown Court.
Simon Tyler
Simon Tyler
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Depraved Simon Tyler was locked up for nine years after raping and sexually assaulting a young girl in Coventry. He faced justice more than 10 years after the sickening abuse happened when the victim decided to bravely come forward.
Police arrested 38-year-old Tyler, from Kenilworth, in 2022. He was jailed for nine years and has also been placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.
Michael O’Meara
Michael O’Meara
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Michael O’Meara raped a woman in the city 35 years ago and was finally brought to justice in December 2024. He was arrested last year and pleaded guilty to the rape, which happened on Silver Street in July 1989.
As the victim walked down Silver Street looking for a taxi, O’Meara raped her at knifepoint, as reported by CoventryLive. Investigations were carried out at the time, but no suspect was identified.
Forensics gathered at the time of the attack were re-examined and, due to significant advances in technology, were linked to 58-year-old O’Meara. He was jailed for 12 years at Warwick Crown Court.
Farnaz Farabi
Farnaz Farabi
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Rapist Farnaz Farabi subjected a woman to a series of ‘sickening’ attacks, leaving her with life-changing injuries. He hit the woman with a hammer, held a knife against her throat, and poured boiling water over her body in what PC Ellis Burbidge, from West Midlands Police, described as ’18 months of torture.’
Farabi, of Jasmine Grove, Coventry, initially denied committing any offences but eventually pleaded guilty to rape and wounding offences at Warwick Crown Court. He was jailed for 19 years when he was sentenced in December 2024.
Harry Fisher
Harry Fisher
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Harry Fisher was jailed for his part in a large-scale drug empire that saw millions of pounds worth of cocaine transported across the West Midlands. Fisher was part of a gang that moved drugs and cash in vehicles with professionally installed compartments, as reported by CoventryLive.
Police eventually snared the Walsall-based gang, who were found to have supplied large quantities of drugs and laundered criminal cash between October 2021 and January 2022. Fisher, 29, of Westcotes, Coventry, was sentenced to five years and seven months in jail.
Derry Tift
Derry Tift
(Image: West Midlands Police)
Depraved Derry Tift was jailed for abusing three young children in Coventry. He carried out a ‘disturbing’ campaign of abuse between 2001 and 2013.
Police were alerted to the incidents when they raided his home, acting on intelligence that he had been accessing indecent images of children online, as reported by CoventryLive. After the warrant was executed, a woman who was abused by Tift when she was younger came forward to speak of the harrowing abuse she had suffered.
Her bravery prompted another two survivors to come forward. Tift admitted to 16 counts of sexual offences against three girls and also pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children at Warwick Crown Court. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail.
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