Jennyfields closure order: warrant issued for arrest of man

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Harrogate man who allegedly breached a closure order on a house in Jennyfields.

The closure order, granted by Harrogate Magistrates Court on November 3, banned anyone except an authorised council officer and one other named person from entering the property for three months.

Harrogate Borough Council said in a statement after the hearing it applied for the order “following concerns about drug use and anti-social behaviour”.

Aaron John Herbert, 49, of Deane Place, Harrogate, was due to appear in court on Thursday charged with entering the premises in contravention of the order.

But he did not appear, prompting magistrates at Harrogate to issue a warrant for his arrest.

North Yorkshire Police said this morning:

“The court warrant is still in place and enquiries are ongoing to locate him.”

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Teen denies stealing bikes from Harrogate school

A teenager is set to stand trial after being charged with stealing multiple bikes in Harrogate, including from St Aidan’s Church of England High School.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before youth court held at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Friday on a string of charges.

He denied stealing two bikes from a secure bicycle unit at St Aidan’s on Oatlands Drive on October 8.

He also pleaded not guilty to stealing a bike from The Matrix on Hornbeam Park on October 4 and another bike from Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre on October 16.

The teenager denied a charge that he dishonestly undertook or assisted in the retention, removal, disposal or realisation of stolen goods in relation to the bike stolen from The Matrix.

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A trial date for the charges was set for January 19, 2023.

Meanwhile, the teenager also denied using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards another boy in McDonalds, Boroughbridge Road, in York on November 3.

He is set to stand trial on January 30, 2023, in relation to the charge.

However, the teenager admitted to failing to comply with a youth rehabilitation order imposed by the court on September 5 in relation to a separate charge.

The teenager had failed to attend statutory appointments, returned home late for curfew twice and on two occasions failed to connect a GPS enabled device to electricity supply as required by the court.

The court adjourned the matter until December 9 for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Head chef admits assault and knife offence at Harrogate restaurant

A head chef has been given a suspended sentence for causing criminal damage at a Harrogate restaurant and carrying a knife in public.

Daniel Woodward, 35, of Oakdale Drive, Harrogate, was also charged with assaulting a staff member, racially aggravated harassment and affray.

He appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to all charges.

Woodward had worked at William and Victoria restaurant on Cold Bath Road for three years as a head chef, the court heard.

When he turned up at the restaurant on October 9, another staff member noticed he was “concerned about his girlfriend”.

Woodward was told to calm down and sit upstairs, where he began raising his voice and banging his fists on the table.

Later Woodward was in the kitchen where staff found him swearing and bowls were smashed.

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The prosecution said the female staff member became scared as Woodward began shouting and swearing, some of which was racial.

The court heard how staff found Woodward with a chef’s knife “clutched to him” and had “blood on his hands”.

Magistrates were also told how Woodward had assaulted a male staff member and left him with a cut to his right hand finger.

At 2.30pm, police arrived at the scene and took Woodward to hospital. He continued to swear and use racially insulting words.

The officer said Woodward called him a “pig” and repeatedly told him to “f*** off”.

The prosecution said:

“The officer said the abuse that the defendant subjected him to is by far the worst in his seven-and-a-half years in the force.”

‘Sorry for his actions’

Brian Nuttney, defending Woodward, told the court that Woodward had “no recollection of much of what happened”, but was sorry for his actions.

Mr Nuttney said the defendant’s girlfriend was supposed to come to see him the night before, but did not turn up which led to him becoming concerned.

He told the court that Woodward was also offered bottles of wine at the restaurant and another staff member made a remark which “could have tipped him over the edge”.

Mr Nuttney said the defendant had been in care at a young age and had felt abandoned, but had gone on to start a family and train to be a chef.

He said:

“Mr Woodward did not have the best start in life.”

Woodward was given a 21-month total sentence suspended for two years. He was also sentenced to eight weeks and four weeks in prison for harassment and affray, which were also suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to undertake 25 days of rehabilitation and to wear an alcohol abstinence tag for 90 days.

Woodward was also subjected to court costs of £472.

The magistrates also awarded £100 in compensation to William and Victoria and another £100 to the injured staff member.

Council closes Jennyfields house amid anti-social behaviour concerns

A house in Jennyfields has been closed amid concerns about anti-social behaviour.

Harrogate Magistrates Court granted a closure order for 46 Bramham Drive on Thursday.

The order bans people from entering the property for three months.

Harrogate Borough Council applied for the order under section 80 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

46 Bramham Drive Jennyfields closure order

The closure order on the door of the property.

A copy of the order, attached to the door of the property, said the court was satisfied there were either concerns about “disorderly, offensive or criminal behaviour on the premises”, the house being used for “serious nuisance to members of the public” or nearby disorder related to the premises.

The document also says “access to the premises is prohibited by all persons” until February 3 except by an authorised council officer and one other named person.

The Stray Ferret has asked the council for further details of why it applied for the order. A spokesman said:

“We applied for the closure order following concerns about drug use and anti-social behaviour.”

In May, the council successfully applied to magistrates for a three-month closure order on a house on Cawthorne Avenue, in the Fairfax area of Harrogate following claims a drug-dependent woman was being exploited by drug dealers.

Last year the council and police also secured the three-month closure of two homes on Avenue Grove in Starbeck.

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Crown court trial for man charged with Harrogate town centre attacks

A man will face trial at York Crown Court after allegedly carrying out a series of attacks in central Harrogate.

Vaughn Ellis, 40, of Grove Park Terrace in Harrogate, appeared at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court this morning facing six charges relating to incidents on April 19 this year.

He has been charged with two counts of assault by beating against two people in Oxford Terrace, as well as criminal damage to a door in the same location.

He also faced two charges of attempted robbery, to which he indicated not guilty pleas, on West Park, along with one count of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress, also on West Park.

Magistrates ordered that Mr Ellis be sent to York Crown Court for trial on all six counts. He was given a preliminary date of November 14, when he will be asked to enter formal pleas.

In the meantime, he was bailed and ordered not to make direct or indirect contact with any of the alleged victims.

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Nidderdale man admits lewd act in Harrogate car park

A Pateley Bridge man has pleaded guilty to performing a lewd act in a car park on Harrogate’s Station Parade.

Thomas Watson, 29, of Millfield Street, appeared before magistrates in Harrogate on Thursday last week.

He was charged with outraging public decency by masturbating in a public car park on September 3 this year.

Watson was remanded on unconditional bail until October 13.

Pre-sentence reports will be prepared before he next appears in court.

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Harrogate man stole £24,000 watch from Rudding Park Hotel

A Harrogate man has been given a community order after stealing a £24,000 Rolex watch from Rudding Park Hotel.

Jake Perks, 32, of Jennyfield Drive, pleaded guilty to theft when he appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday.

The court heard how Perks had visited the hotel on a spa day with his girlfriend on April 22 this year.

The named victim, who owned the Rolex GMT Master II watch, had left it in the changing rooms to go in the shower.

On his way out of the hotel sometime later, he realised he did not have his watch on and could not find it in the hotel.

The Rolex was reported stolen to police and Perks later made a full admission to taking it after noticing it in the changing rooms.

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The prosecution said he handed the watch into police after it was in his possession “for a number of weeks”.

His defence lawyer said it was “an offence committed on impulse” and that he had no previous criminal history.

“He accepts that he has taken the watch and it was out of character.”

The defence added that Perks had been going through a long divorce with his ex-wife and had personal issues.

The magistrates said they accepted that the matter was “an unfortunate lapse in judgement”.

However, the court issued Perks with a community order and ordered him to carry out 60 hours unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £95 and £85 court costs.

Harrogate woman sentenced for assaulting three police officers

An 18-year-old has been sentenced in court for assaulting three police officers in Harrogate.

Emily Harris-Jones, of Beech Street in Starbeck, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court and was charged with assaulting two emergency workers on July 9, 2022.

She assaulted one police constable on the street before beating the same officer at Harrogate Police Station.

Harris-Jones also assaulted another named officer at the station on the same date.

She was also charged with the same offence against a police officer at Dragon Service Station, Skipton Road, on June 29 this year.

The court found all four offences were aggravated by being committed against emergency workers carrying out their duties.

Magistrates sentenced her to 10 weeks in prison for each count, to be served concurrently, suspended for 18 months. She was ordered to undergo treatment for alcohol dependency.

The court also imposed compensation totalling £200, a victim surcharge of £154 and £170 in court costs.

Magistrates said they took into account Harris-Jones’ guilty plea when imposing the sentence.

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Man denies assaulting Harrogate Sainsbury’s staff member

A 35-year-old man appeared in court this week charged with assaulting a staff member at Sainsbury’s in Harrogate.

Skyler Zienlinski, of Fern House, Spa Lane, pleaded not guilty to assault by beating at the store on Cambridge Street on August 1, 2022.

Mr Zienlinski, who appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday, also denied carrying a dismantled scissor blade in a public place without reasonable excuse.

He admitted stealing £40 worth of bottles of wine and Desperados from Sainsbury’s and causing criminal damage to property belonging to the store on the same day.

The court set a trial date of November 21 in Harrogate for the alleged assault and carrying an offensive weapon.

Mr Zienlinski was released on bail under the condition that he does not enter the Cambridge Street store.

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Ex-Harrogate headteacher denies making indecent images of children

A former Harrogate headteacher repeatedly denied in court making more than 3,000 indecent images of children.

Matthew Shillito, 42, pleaded not guilty to making 20 Category B images and 3,829 Category C images between December 3, 2012 and December 31, 2015.

Mr Shillito was appointed headteacher of Western Primary School in 2019.

He was previously headteacher across the Goldsborough Sicklinghall Federation of schools.

None of the alleged offences related to his employment.

During the case, “making” was defined as knowingly accessing a site that contained an indecent image.

The court was told that there was no evidence that Mr Shillito downloaded the alleged material onto his laptop.

The prosecution opened proceedings at Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday and said the alleged indecent images were found on the cache in Mr Shillito’s computer, which could have only have got there had he accessed sites with those images.

Philip Morris, prosecuting, said there were “indicative” terms found on Mr Shillito’s laptop which showed intent to access the alleged images.

Searches were ‘legitimate’

However, Kevin Blount, defence, told the court that while the terms found on the computers may have been indicative, they were “not conclusive” as they could also bring up legitimate results.

Mr Blount said that a Russian image website named in court, which was accessed on Mr Shillito’s Dell laptop, contained legitimate images, such as travel pictures, as well as illegal ones.

He added that cached images could have been stored on the laptop from parts of a web page which Mr Shillito did not look at.

Addressing the search terms found on the laptop, Mr Blount said that the terms could bring up “legitimate images”.

He pointed to terms such as “Nabokov Lolita”, which he said could have been a legitimate search for the 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov.

He said:

“All of those search terms are capable of bringing back legitimate material.”

Cross examination

During cross examination of Mr Shillito, Mr Blount asked him whether he had visited the named Russian site.

Mr Shillito said:

“I visited it a lot. It was just that it was a website full of photographs.

“It was a moderated site. It was a site that had rules.”

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Mr Shillito told the court that he used the site to look for images he was interested in, such as travel after visiting Croatia in 2011. He said he had also used it for teaching material.

He told the court that while the website was Russian, it was loaded in English and was recommended by technology companies such as Apple as a site to use.

When asked by District Judge Lower if he had seen any indecent images of children, Mr Shillito replied “no”.

He repeatedly denied under cross examination that he had made the alleged indecent images of children.

Summaries of four police interviews with Mr Shillito were also read out in court where he denied the allegations.

iPad disposed

Prosecutor Morris asked Mr Shillito about an iPad mini, which was not recovered by police but a backup was found on a silver MacBook Pro.

Mr Shillito confirmed that he had disposed of the iPad because it was “not updating” and had a crack down the screen. He added that he threw it out during a clear out of his address.

Mr Morris put it to Mr Shillito that he had thrown the iPad out two days before police arrived to arrest him because “he was rumbled”. He denied this and said he was he was not aware that police were coming to his address.

When asked about the number of times he visited pages which were “indicative” of the alleged indecent images, Mr Shillito said he “could not imagine” visiting some of them.

Mr Morris told the court that it was “not just one” occasion that the defendant visited the site.

He said:

“In some cases, you have visited not just once or twice but 30 times.”

The trial was adjourned until August 10.