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Sunday World
2 days ago
- Sunday World
Serial woman beater left ex with a bleed on her brain
Bully dragged his girlfriend into the bathroom and beat her repeatedly Simon Wells became one of the first offenders to be charged under new laws around non-fatal strangulation A serial woman-beating thug who left an ex with a bleed on her brain could be going back to jail for breaching his Violent Offences Prevention Order. Pictured here for the first time Antrim bully boy Simon Wells will find out on Tuesday if he is going back to prison after he admitted the breach the terms of his VOPO of which he has been subject to for six years and has four more to run. Wells was previously jailed after he dragged his then girlfriend into a bathroom where he proceeded to punch her repeatedly in the head. And in a separate subsequent attack Wells became one of the first offenders to be charged under new laws around non-fatal strangulation – however the charge was left on the books when he pleaded guilty to assault. Court News NI reported Wells, who has a string of domestic abuse convictions against him, appeared this week convicted of having an 'unapproved' overnight stay in Antrim on April 27. Serial woman-beating thug Simon Wells Sentencing will take place next month at Antrim Magistrates' Court when the 30-year-old now with an address of Inverary Avenue, Belfast, will discover if he's going back to prison following a pre-sentence report. In Northern Ireland, a Violent Offences Prevention Order (VOPO) is a civil order made by a court to protect the public from an offender who poses a risk of serious violent harm. It's not part of a sentence and is a risk management tool, not automatically applied to all violent offenders – only those repeat offenders who have been before the courts several times. Wells has shocking history of attacking women. In 2019 he was jailed for three years after he attacked his ex, committing grievous bodily harm in a prolonged assault that left his victim with a broken nose, broken teeth and a bleed on the brain. On that occasion Wells told cops afterwards, 'If a woman is big enough to hit, she is big enough to be hit back'. Wells barrister told Antrim Crown Court 'in the cold clear light of day' his 24-year-old client was 'disgusted with his behaviour'. Crown barrister Michael Chambers told the court six years ago Wells and his partner went to the flat of another man in Antrim, and that all three consumed drink and drugs. Mr Chambers said that after an otherwise pleasant evening, Wells couldn't find his phone and that an argument broke out between him and his girlfriend. When she located his phone and gave it gave it back to him, the row escalated. Mr Chambers said that while Wells accused his partner of having his phone, he then smashed her two phones. She became angry at this, she shouted at him then the couple started pushing and shoving each other. The prosecutor said at this point the 'physically much stronger' Wells grabbed his girlfriend and dragged her to the bathroom where he got her on the floor. The thug then punched her repeatedly and banged her head off the floor. Mr Chambers said the occupant of the flat was aware of what was happening, and when he opened the bathroom door, he saw Wells 'straddling her and punching her about the face... he thought she was going to be killed'. Simon Wells became one of the first offenders to be charged under new laws around non-fatal strangulation News in 90 Seconds - June 18th He intervened, the police were called to the flat, and when they arrived the saw a woman in a physically distressed state with a bruised and bloodied face. She was taken to hospital and treated for a broken nose and extensive bruising to her face. She also sustained a bleed to the brain and broken teeth in the assault. When Wells, who's originally from Antrim, was arrested, he told police 'if a woman is big enough to hit, she is big enough to be hit back'. At the time, he was also in breach of a suspended sentence. He later admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm, and causing criminal damage to her phones. Defence barrister Neil Moore said it was accepted by Wells that domestic violence was 'abhorrent', that he was 'disgusted' by his own behaviour and that 'he has had the opportunity to think very long and very hard about how he reacted that evening'. Pointing out that in the year Wells has spent in custody he has 'embraced all the help forthcoming to him', Mr Moore revealed this has included attending a victim awareness course. Simon Wells The defence barrister told Judge Kevin Finnegan QC that while an ongoing issue with Wells is drugs and alcohol misuse, he has passed all drugs tests in prison. Judge Finnegan handed Wells a three-year sentence which was divided into a year in custody and two years on licence – meaning he will be released this week. As part of his licence, Wells will have to participate in courses recommended by his Designated Risk Manager. Wells was also made the subject of a five-year Violent Offences Prevention Order, and the conditions of this include him being forbidden into entering a relationship without disclosing his previous offending, and not communicating directly or indirectly with his ex-girlfriend. But despite his claims that he was getting help to stop him from attacking women Wells was back in court in July 2023 for similar offences. He was charged at Ballymena Magistrates Court with strangling a female with intent to affect her ability to breathe or the flow of blood to her brain. He was also charged of assaulting and threatening to kill her and damaging fixtures and fittings in her home. Wells pleaded guilty to the criminal damage charge and the assault offence with the other charges 'left on the book'. He was jailed for 22 months with half of that to be in custody and the other half on licence.
Sunday World
11-06-2025
- Sunday World
Drug driver put back behind bars after attacking victim he blamed for losing dog
Christopher McGregor once told the Sunday World he was the victim of a sectarian hate campaign when he lived in Kells, Co. Antrim. This is the thug jailed last week for attacking a man he blamed for getting his dog taken away by the dog warden. Christopher McGregor, who has a shocking criminal record already despite being just 23 years old, punched the man repeatedly in the head in a shocking attack which he claims was over losing his dog. But after that attack the Antrim thug launched another even more serious attack on the same man after inviting him to his house where he headbutted him and punched him several times again. And we can reveal McGregor once told the Sunday World he was the victim of a sectarian hate campaign when he lived in Kells. In 2022 he claimed he and his then partner where repeatedly targeted by a loyalist hate mob who called him sectarian slurs and torched their home – forcing them to flee the Co Antrim village. However the Sunday World can reveal McGregor had fallen foul of a crime family. Last August McGregor's flat was burned out by members of that crime family in a direct warning to him. Christopher McGregor. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker And earlier this year he was jailed for five months after cops caught driving while off his face on drugs after nearly hitting several vehicles – in fact when they stopped him his lips had a substance on them. Now he's back behind bars for two attacks on the man he reckons shopped him to the dog warden and got his pooch lifted. A source told the Sunday World this week: 'Chris McGregor is a total scumbag and Antrim is glad to see the back of him for a few months but he'll be back terrorising people again as soon as he gets out. 'He terrorised the Springfarm estate but he had a major falling out with the (name removed). 'His flat was burnt out last year but he didn't move far away. He's always off his head on drugs and drives around off his head until he lost his licence finally.' Last Tuesday McGregor was facing a number of assault charges and had been facing a more serious charge of possessing a 'boiled kettle' as an offensive weapon with intent to commit grievous bodily harm. He admitted the assault charges but the kettle charge along with a number of other charges were withdrawn. Court News NI reported how McGregor, from Barra Street, appeared at Antrim Magistrates Court sitting in Ballymena where he pleaded guilty to assaulting the man on April 8 and then assaulting him again the next day. Christopher McGregor. Photo: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker News in 90 Seconds - June 11th Appearing at court via video link from prison, he listened as a prosecutor explained how around 4pm on April 8 the thug sent a text to the other male 'attempting to arrange a fight' because, according to the barrister, the defendant had blamed the male 'for his dog being confiscated by the dog warden'. The defendant met the male in the Townparks area of Antrim and forced him to the ground, punching him multiple times to the head leaving him bruising to the eye. The fight was broken up by McGregor's mum. McGregor contacted the male again, inviting him up to his house, and again assaulted him, punching him multiple times and headbutted him leaving him with a bloodied nose and bumps and bruises to the head. He had also been accused, on April 9, of possessing a 'boiled kettle' as an offensive weapon with intent to commit grievous bodily harm; assaulting a woman; 'threatening or abusive' behaviour; making a threat to damage property and attempted criminal damage to a car dashboard but those charges were withdrawn by prosecutors. Regarding assaulting the male, a defence barrister said McGregor, who has a significant record, accepts he had 'acted over and above what he should have done'. District Judge Nigel Broderick said they had been 'nasty assaults'. He said one assault was bad enough but the aggravating feature was that he assaulted the male the next day and jailed McGregor for four months. In October 2022 McGregor told the Sunday World he was an innocent victim of a sectarian hate mob. He said he was run out of town by sinister elements connected to loyalist paramilitaries – all because he was Catholic. At one stage a wheelie bin was placed at the front door of the house where they lived and set on fire. 'If it wasn't for the alarms we would have burned to death,' Christopher told us back in 2022. 'There was only one door in or out and we were at the top floor.' McGregor described how he and his partner, who he's no longer with, suffered a hate-filled sectarian campaign. 'I was called a Fenian bastard on the street. I was told f**k off you Fenian bastard,' McGregor said. 'The irony is my Da was in the British Army but people like that don't understand.' He said their home was repeatedly and relentlessly targeted to the point they were forced to leave and ended up having to stay in an old caravan with neither a cooker nor a toilet. Christopher McGregor's flat was burned out. 'Every single day there was an attempted burglary,' he said. 'They put a brick through the window and, in the end we had to barricade the windows.' 'I went to a cash machine in the town and was told f** k off you Fenian bastard. There was graffiti on the door that read 'dirty stinking Fenians'. We never slept.' And he said there were the phone calls where the caller would warn they were coming to get them. When they returned to their flat they found it ransacked – what belongings they left behind were strewn across the floor, furniture and plates smashed. In 2023 he pleaded guilty to charges of setting fire to a property occupied by Polish people. He also admitted burglary, theft and causing property damage and was jailed for eight months. He'd gone to the property and stole the fridge, cooker and washing machine – all of which were discovered in McGregor's house. They also found spray cans which had been used by him to spray racist graffiti on the walls of the house before he set the property on fire. His defence barrister claimed he was 'struggling with alcohol and drug problems, which caused him to behave irrationally'.
Sunday World
28-05-2025
- Sunday World
Lawyer with SIX drink-driving convictions allegedly caught drunk behind wheel again
Legal eagle was caught wandering around hospital wearing a pair of medical scrubs he'd found This is the banged-up brief who's already been convicted of drink-driving a staggering SIX times – but was allegedly caught last Sunday after having driven drunk to hospital while already banned! Lewis Monaghan is a respected lawyer who specialises in land and contract law but a judge on Monday remanded him into custody to 'protect other road users' after a cop described him as an 'habitual drink driver' who shows 'blatant disregard' to his seven-year driving ban. On one occasion Monaghan, who's head of legal services for a company based in England, was found to be four-and-a-half times over the legal drink-drive limit and he was jailed for nine months last October after he was caught well over the limit – again at the same hospital. Last Sunday, the legal eagle was caught wandering around Antrim Area Hospital – where he was supposedly picking up a patient who was being discharged – wearing a pair of medical scrubs he'd found. The 30-year-old, who's originally from Wales but has been living in Larne, had abandoned his car at the entrance to the hospital – sparking staff there to call the police. Monaghan, who specialises in land procurement and planning applications, was arrested on suspicion of drinking while unfit and also for stealing a set of scrubs – though he was not charged with theft when he appeared at Coleraine Magistrates Court on Monday. Court News NI reported how Monaghan is alleged to have driven a Ford Ranger with excess alcohol in his breath last Sunday when he while disqualified and uninsured. Monaghan has been convicted three times previously in Northern Ireland and a further three times in England and Wales. A police officer told the court how at 8.30am on Sunday police received a report from a staff member at Antrim Area Hospital that a patient was ready to be discharged and her son and the defendant attended but was drunk. Staff were concerned and when police arrived at 9.10am they saw a Ford Ranger 'abandoned' near the entrance. The vehicle was registered to the son of the patient. Police viewed CCTV and it showed a male wearing an orange T-shirt and black shorts getting out of the vehicle after driving it to the point where it was abandoned. Police identified the defendant as the driver and 'subsequently located him within the hospital wearing a set of medical scrubs from the hospital'. They explained to the court that liquor could be smelt from him at the hospital and he subsequently failed a preliminary breath test. A check by police showed Monaghan was currently banned from driving for seven years. The police officer told the court that Monaghan has shown a 'blatant disregard' for the ban. She said he is a 'habitual drink-driver and he poses a safety risk for himself and other road users'. A defence barrister said the defendant was a 'qualified contract lawyer', adding that Monaghan was 'alcohol dependent' and his drinking 'got out of control'. Bail was refused by District Judge Peter King to 'protect' road users. The defendant was remanded in custody to Antrim Magistrates Court sitting in Ballymena on June 10. When he appeared in court last October he was facing three separate drink-drive cases at once which he pleaded guilty to. In fact he was caught three times in just five months – once after leaving hospital, once after shopping at ASDA and once while driving in Belfast. On that occasion the judge said it was a 'serious set of offending' as the defendant had committed his fourth, fifth and sixth drink-driving offences and had driven whilst disqualified. Judge Broderick jailed Monaghan for nine months, banned him from the roads for seven years and fined him £100. When he's not tearing up the roads half-cut, Monaghan is a respected legal expert who says he's 'passionate about enabling organisations to reduce their carbon footprint' and is also interested in amateur dramatics and rugby. His biography says he 'is a lawyer with specialisms in contract and land law. He is an expert in land procurement, planning applications, adverse possession of land, boundary disputes, wayleaves agreements and titles/ownership of land and the public realm'. Lewis Monaghan was arrested at Antrim Area Hospital News in 90 Seconds - May 28th
Sunday World
18-05-2025
- Sunday World
Man accused of fake ‘cop' scam says it was just a ‘prank'
Charlie Ward was charged after police received a report of a motorist impersonating a police officer by using flashing lights to stop another vehicle Charlie Ward was charged after police received a report of a motorist impersonating a police officer by using flashing lights to stop another vehicle at the Crankill Road dual-carriageway near Ballymena. This is the Co Down driver accused of pretending to be a cop and flashing down another driver A man accused of posing as a cop and using flashing lights to flag down another driver has told this paper it was just a 'prank'. Charlie Ward was charged after police received a report of a motorist impersonating a police officer by using flashing lights to stop another vehicle at the Crankill Road dual-carriageway near Ballymena last year. The 21-year-old, with an address listed as Downpatrick Road, Killough, Co Down, is charged with impersonating a police officer on December 28. During the alleged incident the driver of the other car pulled over believing Ward was the PSNI but grew suspicious when Ward was unable to provide any ID to confirm this. Ward was driving an Audi A3 and a police report at the time of the incident, which was released to the press, stated there were two other men in the back of his car. It also said that even after the person had driven off after becoming concerned, Ward continued to follow the driver. This is the Co Down driver accused of pretending to be a cop and flashing down another driver News in 90 Seconds - May 18th Speaking to the Sunday World this week, a sheepish Ward said: 'It was just a prank – I didn't realise how serious it would turn out to be – but here we are.' He said he'd be pleading guilty to the charges but didn't know when the next hearing was scheduled. And he added politely: 'I regret it big time – don't suppose there's anyway you can keep it out of the paper?' The particulars of the charge are 'with intent to deceive impersonated a member of the police force, or makes a statement or did an act calculated falsely to suggest that he was such a member, contrary to Section 67(1) Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998'. Ward is further accused of driving dangerously on roads, according to the charge sheet, between Crankill Road and Sandyknowes on the M2 motorway on December 28. Court News NI reported the case was mentioned at Ballymena Magistrates Court this week. No details were given to the court about the background to the charges and the case was adjourned to later this month to get the defendant's attitude to the charges he faces. Charlie Ward was charged after police received a report of a motorist impersonating a police officer by using flashing lights to stop another vehicle at the Crankill Road dual-carriageway near Ballymena. In December police issued a press release saying they received a report of a man impersonating a police officer in the Ballymena area. Chief Inspector Redmond said: 'We received a report at approximately 7.30pm on Saturday, 28th December that a dark-coloured Audi A3, driven by a man, used flashing lights to stop another car in the Crankill Road area. 'The member of the public believed this to be a police vehicle and pulled over. However, he became suspicious when the man could not produce any form of official police identification and was not wearing a uniform. 'We understand two other men were also in the back of the car. He subsequently drove off and was followed by the suspicious vehicle for a short time before reporting what happened to police.'
Sunday World
05-05-2025
- Sunday World
Cocaine fiend sniffed so much gear he thought people had broke into his home
'Paranoid' drug user told cops he was convinced his home was being robbed This is the cocaine fiend who shoved so much gear up his nose he thought people had broken into his home and repeatedly called 999. Matthew McCavana appeared at Antrim Magistrates Court this week where it emerged he told cops who lifted him for repeatedly making hoax emergency calls that he was 'paranoid on cocaine'. The 20-year-old, of Stiles Farm in Antrim, admitted a charge of wasting police time after he made nine calls to the 999 emergency number. Sources in Antrim have described McCavana as an 'eejit' who is 'more of a nuisance' than anything more serious. 'He's only 20 but if anyone wanted an example of why cocaine is not a fun drug to get hooked on they should look at him,' said a source in the town who knows McCavana. 'The cops had been out to him before and he can get a bit feisty and there was one time they went to a relative's house looking for him and the cops were attacked by a dog. 'Hopefully he gets help and sorts himself out – he's so young to be hooked on something like cocaine.' Court News NI reported how McCavana committed the offence on August last year. McCavana admitted breaching a Community Service Order he had originally been given for the offence. Matthew McCavana Today's News in 90 Seconds - May 5th He also committed a similar offence in February this year and admitted improper use of a communications network and attempting to damage a police vehicle. A prosecutor told the court there had been 'nine hoax calls' to police which began at 7.15am on August 24 last year. The mobile number used was linked to the defendant. McCavana had repeatedly reported to police there were 'persons in his address' but when police had gone to his home at 8.15am they established that was not the case. He was warned about not making any further calls but shortly after officers left his address, he made six further calls to the 999 system. Police returned to his address and he was arrested for wasting police time by 'false reporting'. When interviewed, he admitted making the calls but despite this McCavana made yet more calls in a separate incident in February. On February 13 between 7.41am and 7.59am police received seven calls to 999 from a phone number associated with the defendant. Matthew McCavana During the night numerous calls had earlier been received from the same number. Police attended his address and there was 'no emergency'. When he was arrested he tried to 'escape' from a police vehicle by trying to open a door and then tried to smash a window with his fists. A defence barrister said the defendant had been 'in a state of paranoia as a result of taking cocaine'. She said the defendant fully appreciated the 'strain' on public resources 'never mind people making false reports and if he had been in his right mind he would never have been behaving in such a manner'. District Judge Natasha Fitzsimons said the defendant had previously been given a Combination Order aimed at helping him to have a 'meaningful life'. The judge deferred sentencing for three months to July to see if McCavana could avoid trouble and he has to engage with Community Addictions.
