Dorset criminals jailed in July 2022

Below is all the people jailed this month.

Brooklyn Bell

A drug dealer who bragged about stabbing a man in Bournemouth before killing a man in a North Yorkshire park two years later has been jailed for more than 10 years.

Brooklyn Bell, 19, killed Simon McMinn after an argument about Bell trying to sell cocaine to school children.

Bell, from Keighley, worked for a county lines drug gang based in West Yorkshire.

Mr McMinn and Bell started to quarrel and Bell stabbed 44-year-old Mr McMinn, once to the chest and twice to the back, then fled the scene leaving him to die.

Bell was also convicted for a similar attack against a man in Bournemouth when he was just 16 years old and dealing for a London-based drugs gang.

He stabbed the 54-year-old man in the back three times with a flick knife following a minor disagreement in the area of East Overcliff Drive at around 9pm on August 11, 2019.

The victim suffered a collapsed lung and needed emergency surgery but survived.

He went on the run, writing drill rap lyrics glorifying the stabbing and boasting that he wouldn’t be caught.

“I left that crime scene happy. No evidence. So the feds can’t catch me,” he wrote.

Following trial in January 2022, Bell was found not guilty of murder, but found guilty of the manslaughter of Simon McMinn.

He was jailed for a total of ten years and four months for manslaughter, grievous bodily harm and supplying heroin and crack cocaine.

READ MORE: Killer drug dealer boasted about non-fatal Bournemouth stabbing

Ryan Palin

A drug dealer who supplied millions of pounds of cocaine across the UK from Bournemouth to Glasgow was caught due to a distinctive mural at his home of UFC star Conor McGregor.

Ryan Palin, 36, orchestrated a criminal network that relied upon people willing to traffic drugs on a daily basis and concealed his criminal gains using legitimate businesses as cover.

He also relied on a highly encrypted form of telecommunications, known to its users as the EncroChat network.

Users of the EncroChat network have "handles", or nicknames, to allow others to contact them, without having to refer to a user’s true name. Ryan Palin used the handle “titch.com”.

Encrochat devices also provide users with a facility to make and store notes.

The data on the “titch.com” device revealed, over a nine-month period between 2019 and 2020, the supply of 700kg of cocaine and the movement of more than £32,000,000.

An image on the encrypted phone showed a distinctive mural of the UFC star Connor McGregor.

This proved key to linking the encrypted phone to Palin, as officers were able to identify that the wall the mural was painted on was a wall at the home address of the defendant.

On December 9, 2021, Palin, of Mereworth, Caldy in Wirral, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply controlled drugs of class A and B.

He was charged with conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs but pleaded not guilty. However, he was found guilty following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court. He was jailed for 29 years.

READ MORE: Drug dealer caught due to mural of UFC star Conor McGregor

Christopher William Hughes

A hit-and-run driver who crashed into a woman and caused her life-changing injuries has been jailed.

Christopher William Hughes, aged 30 and of Morley Road, Bournemouth, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday, July 8, after admitting charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop after a road accident and failing to report a road accident.

He was sentenced to 27 months in prison and disqualified from driving for a period of six years and six months.

At around 7pm on Monday, May 10, 2021, a man and woman aged in their 20s were walking along the pavement of East Overcliff Drive when a BMW 1 Series being driven by the defendant and a Volkswagen Passat were involved in a collision, before the BMW then collided with the two pedestrians.

Witnesses described the BMW travelling at speeds of between 40mph and 45mph, above the 30mph speed limit, and apparently attempting to overtake three vehicles prior to the crash.

The BMW was reported to have driven off from the scene.

Hughes attended Bournemouth police station the following day and was arrested in connection with the incident.

The woman sustained serious injuries, including to her spine, head and liver, that required multiple surgeries. The male pedestrian suffered minor injuries.

At the sentencing hearing, the judge also ordered that Hughes pay £10,000 in compensation to his female victim.

READ MORE: Hit-and-run driver jailed over life-changing injury crash

Stefania Tinica

One of the Rolex Rippers, the group of women who rob wealthy gentlemen for their designer watches, has been jailed for her part in the organised crime which has struck in Dorset.

Stefania Tinica, a Romanian national, is the first member of the gang behind dozens of distraction thefts across the country to be convicted.

The 40-year-old and an unknown female accomplice struck in expensive neighbourhoods at either end of the country five months apart.

Tinica relieved one victim of his £15,000 Rolex watch without him realising when she tried to hug and kiss him and attempted to do the same to another man who fought back.

A court heard the attempted robbery happened on January 3 last year by Alderley Edge Golf Club in Cheshire.

Tinica approached the man and tried to take his £10,000 Rolex Submariner watch off of him.

The victim managed to break free and push one of them away. Tinica and her accomplice gave up and fled.

Police recovered DNA from the man's wrist and although they identified Tinica as the assailant they were unable to trace her.

On May 30 she struck for a second time 250 miles away in Bingham Avenue, near to the exclusive Parkstone Golf Club in Poole.

Her 75-year-old victim was walking down the road when Tinica stopped him. She suddenly put her arms around him and tried to grab his arm to get him to touch her.

The pensioner broke free and saw her get into a car before realising his £15,930 Rolex Submariner timepiece was missing.

She pleaded guilty to robbery and attempted robbery and was jailed for 40 months at Chester Crown Court.

READ MORE: 'Rolex ripper' jailed for robbing Poole man of £15k watch

Damien Sean Johnson, Hayden Johnson and Dominic MacDonald

Three men have been jailed for a total of more than 60 years for killing a man and carrying out violent robberies in Bournemouth.

Damien Sean Johnson, 31, Hayden Johnson, 29, and Dominic MacDonald, 30, admitted the manslaughter of 56-year-old Michael Bastable in an alleyway off Shelbourne Road.

The defendants, who all lived in Bournemouth, also admitted robbery of Mr Bastable, who was known as Shaun, on the day of his death on January 14 and a separate incident on January 19.

The Johnson brothers also admitted a third robbery, committed on January 21.

Sentencing judge the Honourable Mr Justice Jeremy Baker said: "Although there are no witnesses to what took place in the alleyway, it is clear the complainant was attacked and robbed."

He added: “The complainant was attacked with such violence that he died.”

A forensic post-mortem indicated Mr Bastable had died from injuries to his stomach area that were consistent with him being repeatedly stamped or jumped on while lying on his back on the ground.

“The repercussions for his family have been profound," the Honourable Mr Justice Baker said.

READ MORE: Killers jailed for 62 years for manslaughter and robbery

The judge referenced the statement from Mr Bastable's brother, which said: "The ripple of destruction that has torn through our family is immeasurable."

Damien Johnson and Hayden Johnson, both of Christchurch Road, were jailed for 22 years, with a three-year extended licence after the judge concluded they were dangerous offenders.

MacDonald, of St John’s Road, was jailed for 18 years.