Leeds Crown Court round-up: Male model, ‘Premier League’ armed robber and Halton Moor rioters sentenced this week

Also jailed by judges this week included a “dangerous” and prolific armed robber who laughed as he attacked and stabbed a man and a motorist who fled and left the passenger in the car that he’d crashed with a broken neck and bleeding brain.

Below is a summary of some of this week’s cases.

Marcus Adigun

A male model whose work dried up became embroiled in dealing cocaine among other drugs until he was stopped by police during a random check.

Marcus Adigun, 29, was working towards becoming a personal trainer and advertised himself as a part-time model and actor but his secret underworld dealings unravelled when he was approached by police in Leeds in May 2021.

When they carried out a search, they found bags of white powder on him along with £458 cash. They then searched his home and found more drugs divided into dozen of snap bags, scales and more than £2,400 in cash.

Adigun was sentenced to 28 months in prison.

Connor Neil Johnson

A “dangerous” and prolific armed robber laughed as he attacked and stabbed a man before pushing the stricken victim into the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and stealing his e-bike.

The attack was described as “Premier League stuff” by the presiding Judge Andrew Stubbs KC, who jailed him for a total of 10-and-a-half years, made up of seven-and-a-half years in custody, with another three years on an extended licence period.

Marcus Emsley

A motorist crashed a vehicle at high speed before fleeing the scene and leaving his unconscious passenger with a broken neck and a bleeding brain.

Marcus Emsley, who had only just got his licence back after a drug-drive ban, flipped his pal’s Ford Focus in Holbeck and then went on the run for five days before eventually handing himself into police.

The 21-year-old joiner was jailed for three years and banned from driving for five.

Halton Moor riots

Five men were sentenced for their roles in a riot on a Leeds estate that saw police “pelted with bricks for hours”.

The violence engulfed an estate in Halton Moor in November 2020 and two years later five men appeared in court for throwing bottles, beer kegs and missiles at officers.

Shane Turnbull, 18; Callum Small, 19; Robert Allison, 43, and Thomas Addo, 19, were given community orders after appearing before a judge on Tuesday, while 50-year-old Jason Banks was given a suspended prison sentence.

Mark Brodie

An armed robber who preyed on convenience stores broke down in tears after claiming his drug addiction forced him into crime.

Mark Brodie sobbed as he read out a statement to a crown court judge, having turned over two stores in Pudsey, including the same store twice just hours apart. Wearing a mask, he had threatened staff with a knife before grabbing fistfuls of cash from the tills.

He was jailed for 40 months after admitting three counts of robbery, and three of possessing a bladed article.