Martin Naylor

John Guthrie, 39, was convicted of manslaughter for kicking Leban Hussein in the head during a 2022 street assault in Handsworth. Hussein suffered severe brain injuries, spent nearly three years in hospital and care homes, and died from bronchial pneumonia in July 2025. A jury cleared co-defendant Kristian Haines of manslaughter, although he faces sentencing for grievous bodily harm and an unrelated burglary. Both men were remanded in custody and are due to be sentenced on September 14.

Tommy-John Mustafa was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to six years and six months in prison after driving a modified Toyota GT86 at about 93mph while around twice the drink-drive limit, losing control and striking three teenagers on Derby Road in June 2025. He fled the scene, falsely claimed the car had been stolen, and admitted three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, perverting the course of justice and other dangerous-driving offences, including a 130mph motorway incident while using a phone. The victims suffered severe physical and psychological harm, including broken bones, toe amputation and suicidal thoughts. Mustafa was also disqualified from driving for seven years and nine months.

Derbyshire Police confirmed that rapper 50 Cent once wrote a letter offering to pay bail for Abrirahiim Hassan, who has now been jailed for acting as a link between London and a major Derbyshire cocaine network. Prosecutors detailed how the group trafficked multi‑kilogram quantities of cocaine across the region and funded lavish lifestyles through drug profits. Judge Jonathan Straw handed down long prison sentences to multiple members of the two connected gangs, describing the operations as high‑level, well‑run criminal enterprises responsible for significant harm.

A former Derbyshire Detective Chief Inspector, Michael Cooper, pleaded guilty at Nottingham Crown Court to causing the death of educational psychologist James Bane and seriously injuring another pedestrian through dangerous driving in 2021. Sentencing was adjourned to July 17, with the judge imposing an interim six‑month driving disqualification. The case followed an Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation referred by Derbyshire Constabulary. Emergency services responded heavily to the incident, and the coroner suspended the ongoing inquest pending the outcome of criminal proceedings.

A speeding van driver, Aaron Roberts, was jailed for two years after crashing into 73-year‑old Roger Bowler’s car on the A38 near Derby while distracted by his phone, causing severe injuries from which Bowler never fully recovered before his death months later. Evidence showed Roberts had been driving at more than 80mph and sending WhatsApp messages moments before the collision. Judge Shaun Smith KC condemned the driving as appalling and issued a driving ban of nearly three years. Bowler’s daughter delivered an emotional statement describing her father’s decline following the crash. Roberts, who had prior speeding points, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.