The latest cases to be heard at Harrogate Magistrates Court between February 2 and February 10

The following was heard at North Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court on February 2:

Darren Beeforth, 38, of Charles Avenue, Harrogate, received a 12-week jail sentence for stalking a named woman. The stalking campaign occurred between December 8 and 12 last year when Beeforth contacted the woman and turned up at her property uninvited. There was no separate penalty for destroying a plant pot, worth £100, at the victim’s home in Killinghall on December 11. The prison sentence was imposed because the offence was of a domestic nature and Beeforth had a “flagrant disregard for people and their property”. He was also slapped with a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim and going to her address. He was ordered to pay a statutory surcharge of £154 to fund victim services.

The following was heard at North Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court on February 6:

Samuel Hughes, 46, of Swarcliffe Road, Harrogate, had six months added to an existing suspended prison sentence for failing to comply with the requirements of the original order. He breached the order by racking up more than seven-and-a-half hours of curfew violations between May and October last year. The original suspended sentence, for assault by beating, was imposed in May 2022, when Hughes received an 18-week suspended jail sentence. To mark the breach, the order was extended, resulting in an overall suspension period of 18 months. He was also ordered to complete further rehabilitation-activity days and comply with a 14-day doorstep curfew which prohibits him leaving his home between 8pm and 6am daily. He was ordered to pay £120 prosecution costs.

The following were heard at North Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court on February 7:

Richard Abel, 55, of Fulwith Road, Harrogate, received a six-month motoring ban for using a mobile phone while at the wheel. The offence occurred on the M1 in Markfield, Leicestershire, on June 24 last year. Abel was holding the phone and operating the screen while in transit. He was fined £666 and ordered to pay £90 costs, along with a £266 surcharge.

Shaun Kent, 53, of Mayfield Grove, Harrogate, was fined £350 and had nine points added to his licence for driving without due care and attention. He was driving a Ford Fiesta when the offence occurred on Boroughbridge Road, Harrogate, on November 14 last year. Kent was ordered to pay £90 costs and a £140 surcharge.

The following were heard at North Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court on February 8:

Philip John Weatherell, 57, of South Drive, Harrogate, had six points added to his licence after he was clocked speeding twice in the space of seven months, but there was no driving ban under the totting-up procedure due to mitigating circumstances. The first offence occurred on the A66 at Gatherley Moor, Richmondshire, on November 26, 2021, when his Land Rover Discovery was driven at a speed exceeding 70mph. The second offence occurred on the A1(M) at Ingmanthorpe on June 9 last year, when he again broke a 70mph speed limit. Weatherell was fined £153 for each offence and ordered to pay £90 costs, along with a £34 surcharge.

John Payne, 27, of Belmont Road, Harrogate, was given a six-month driving ban under the totting-up procedure for speeding on the A1(M) at Boroughbridge. He was in a Mercedes Sprinter van which was driven at a speed exceeding 70mph on May 17 last year. He was fined £40 and ordered to pay a £34 surcharge.

The following were heard at North Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court on February 9:

Steven Bainbridge, 34, of Westgate, Ripon, received a 12-month conditional discharge for three shoplifting incidents at the town’s Sainsbury’s store. Bainbridge stole beer and food at the supermarket in Market Place, which he targeted three times in the space of 11 days. The first incident occurred on June 16 last year when Bainbridge stole just over £45 of beer and burgers. The second theft occurred on June 27, when he stole £23 of Peroni beer, followed by a third shoplifting incident when he again stole £23 of Peroni from the same store. Bainbridge was ordered to pay full compensation, totalling £91.50, for the thefts and a £26 victim surcharge.

Ashleigh Lambert, 31, of Valley Drive, Harrogate, received a 12-month motoring ban for drink-driving. She was in a BMW which was stopped in Harlow Terrace, Harrogate, on June 10 last year. A blood test revealed she was over the legal alcohol limit. She was fined £768 and ordered to pay £85 costs, along with a statutory surcharge of £307.

Ben Orpin, 23, of North Road, Ripon, received a 12-month community order for defrauding a named woman by fraudulent use of her credit card. The offences occurred between September 6 and 10, 2021, when Orpin used the victim’s credit card in six transactions worth £309. He was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and complete up to 10 days’ rehabilitation activity. He was ordered to pay £620 costs and a £95 surcharge. There was no separate penalty for failing to surrender to court custody on December 22 last year.

The following were heard at North Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court on February 10:

Max Richard Burrill, 18, of Westbourne Grove, Ripon, received a 26-month motoring ban after he was caught driving while over three times the legal alcohol limit. The incident occurred in High Street, Hampsthwaite, on September 11 last year, when he caused an accident and failed to stop after the crash. A subsequent drink-drive test revealed he had 107mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg. Burrill was also given a 12-month community order under which he must complete 120 hours of unpaid work and up to 20 days’ rehabilitation activity. He was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £95 surcharge. There were no separate penalties for failing to stop after an accident and possessing cannabis.

Naomi Jane Lawson, 38, of Aismunderby Road, Ripon, received an 18-month community order for assaulting a named woman, causing actual bodily harm. The incident occurred at an address in Ripon on April 19 last year. As part of the order, Lawson must carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and complete up to 25 days’ rehabilitation activity. She was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £95 surcharge to fund victim services. There was no compensation order because the magistrates’ bench felt it was “not appropriate and may antagonise the situation”.

Simon James Wilson, 47, of Hookstone Avenue, Harrogate, was ordered to complete further rehabilitation-activity days after he admitted breaching a suspended prison sentence. Wilson failed to comply with a community requirement of the suspended sentence by missing a probation appointment in December 2022 and an unpaid-work session in January this year. The original suspended sentence was imposed at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court in August last year for possessing an offensive weapon. The order was varied and the revised sentence was one of 26 weeks’ jail suspended for 24 months, during which time Wilson must complete up to five days’ extra rehabilitation activity. The bench ordered that the original conditions of the order, including unpaid work and an exclusion requirement, should continue.

Liam John Byrne, 36, of Hyde Park Road, Harrogate, was ordered to complete a further eight hours’ unpaid work for failing to comply with the requirements of a community order. Byrne breached the order by missing two probation appointments in September and December 2022 and an unpaid-work session in January this year.

Harry Cannon, 68, of Windsor Lane, Knaresborough, was given an eight-week suspended prison sentence for assaulting a named woman at an address in Harrogate. The incident occurred at a property in Fairfax Avenue on September 2 last year. The prison sentence was suspended for 12 months, during which time Cannon must complete up to 30 days’ rehabilitation activity. He was also made subject to a four-month curfew which prohibits him leaving his home between 7pm and 6am daily and a 12-month restraining order banning him contacting the victim or going to her home in Harrogate. He was ordered to pay her £100 compensation and £85 prosecution costs, along with a statutory surcharge of £154.

Timothy Paul Johnson, 43, of Woodfield Avenue, Harrogate, was fined £157 for assaulting a police officer. The incident occurred at a property in Angel Gardens, Knaresborough, on July 11, 2021. Johnson was ordered to pay £200 costs and a £34 surcharge. His co-defendant Kayleigh Jean Lawson, 36, also of Woodfield Avenue, Harrogate, was ordered to pay a £22 victim surcharge and £85 costs for wilfully obstructing a police constable in the same incident.