Yorkshire courts round-up: Life sentence for Leeds murderer, child rapist jailed, and £17m drug smuggler caught

Leeds murder:

A killer who stamped and kicked his girlfriend before leaving her to die from her injuries has been jailed for life.

Warren Spence had been in a relationship with Samantha Varley for around six months when the attack happened in February 2024.

Miss Varley, 44, was found dead at a property on Brown Hill Terrance in Harehills, Leeds, on February 12 after a family member had been unable to contact her and raised the alarm.

Police forced entry into the home and found her body inside along with signs of a disturbance, and a murder investigation was launched.

A post-mortem showed she had extensive injuries from an attack which included being repeatedly kicked and stamped on.

Spence beat her with punches, kicks and a hammer which was found in their property, a trial at Leeds Crown court heard.

On Monday (Mar 24) he was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 24 years.

Bradford child rape:

A Bradford man who “regularly raped” a child in Kirklees has been jailed for more than a decade.

James Goy, 39, from Bradford, targeted the victim, who was under 13, between 2020 and 2022, and “regularly raped” her, a court heard.

Detectives began an investigation after the girl’s mother contacted police to report the offending.

Goy was arrested and last month pleaded guilty to nine counts of raping a child under 13 and one count of sexual assault by penetration of a child under 13.

On Monday (Mar 24), at Leeds Crown Court, he was sentenced to 14 years and six months in prison.

Selby grooming case:

He was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

A disgraced former law student who groomed underaged girls on Snapchat during the Covid-19 lockdown whilst he was still at university has been sentenced to six years and 10 months imprisonment.

Oliver Thomas Lupton Lane, 24, pleaded guilty to 11 charges including sexual activity with a child, arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, and several charges of making indecent photographs of children.

York Crown Court heard that police were alerted about Lane from Wistow, Selby, after a 14 year old child disclosed that she had engaged in conversation with a man on Snapchat.

She also told officers that they had met up and engaged in sexual activity.

Lane was sentenced to six years and 10 months for his crimes which took place in May and October 2021.

US to Leeds drug smuggling:

A Leeds man has been jailed for six years after £17 million worth of cannabis smuggled from California was intercepted en route to West Yorkshire.

Smuggled drugs were intercepted by Border Force staff at East Midlands Airport on October 30, 2024.

James Montgomery, 44, from Leeds, was the intended recipient of the packages that contained 213 kilos of cannabis.

The Class B drugs had been sent from California to be delivered to an address in Allerton Bywater, Castleford.

The cannabis was found vacuum packed and concealed within leather products and had an estimated street value of over £17 million.

Having attempted to conceal his involvement, officers from the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU) identified Montgomery as the UK recipient.

Montgomery was arrested and admitted conspiracy to supply Class B drugs at an earlier hearing,

The 44-year-old appeared before Leeds Crown Court on Thursday (Mar 20), when he was jailed for six years.

Stockton fatal stabbing:

One man has been convicted of murder and three others for their roles in the fatal stabbing of 26-year-old Lewis Bell in Stockton.

In the early hours of September 19, 2024, Lewis Bell, 26, was chased by three men in Stockton, a court heard.

The 26-year-old was then stabbed and left to die outside a property in Hills Drive.

The court heard how the attackers ran away after the incident and disposed of their weapons and clothing with help from a fourth man.

The fourth man had also arranged a taxi to take them away from the scene, the court was told.

On Thursday (Mar 27), the four men were all convicted for their parts in the fatal knife attack.

Sean Mcleod, 23, was convicted of murder.

Liam Matthews who is now 26 and Ashton White who is now 18, were convicted of manslaughter.

Matthews, who had been released from HMP Holme House the same morning, slashed at Bell with a chisel after spotting two other men fighting with him in the street, reports said.

His early release came in the first month the emergency measures aimed at freeing up spaces in overcrowded prisons were introduced.

Matthews had been convicted of violent disorder after a street fight in 2023.

Macauley Wright, 26, assisted the three others and he was convicted of assisting an offender.

All four men have been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on June 19.