PJ Maguire – now that is a name that is sadly all too familiar in The Citizen.He is a notorious law breaker who has a record which dates back to 1990 for a wide range of crimes – some involving violence.In 2007, Maguire was jailed and given an indeterminate sentence for masterminding a foiled armed robbery at a post office.Yet here we are, not six years later, and he has once again been before the courts this time for being the "controlling mind" of a cocaine conspiracy...
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Citizen editor: PJ Maguire's sentence is welcomed but police have...
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Lydia Beavis will go to court in August following a incident...
A WOMAN charged with stabbing a man in Stroud appeared at Gloucester Crown Court yesterday.Lydia Beavis, 50, of Upper Leazes, Stroud, is charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.She was charged after a 48-year-old man was found in a critical condition at Beavis' address in Upper Leazes around 8.55pm on April 26.The man was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.No pleas were entered yesterday.She will appear at Gloucester Crown Court on Friday, August 2 after a...
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Lord Somerset denies beating wife
A MEMBER of one of Britain's most elite aristocratic families has denied repeatedly beating his wife.Lord Edward Alexander Somer set, the son of the Duke of Beaufort, pleaded not guilty to six counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Caroline Somerset, 54.He denied charges dating back more than 25 years with the first assault alleged to have happened in London between January 1988 and January 1992.The other attacks – the most recent last October – are alleged to have...
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School hit by computer raid in Stonehouse
STUDENTS who had work stored on computers at Maidenhill School in Stonehouse have been hardest hit by a burglary.Although the full extent of the loss is not yet known, it is understood many of the PCs taken in the raid had pupils' assignments stored on computer hard drives.Burglars forced entry into the school's science block in Kings Road sometime overnight on Thursday.Music technology students have suffered most, losing weeks of work.Head teacher Pam Wilson said: "I am really disappointed...
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Counterfeit clothing seized in £10,000 Stow Fair bust
THOUSANDS of pounds of counterfeit clothing has been seized by trading standards officers.Gloucestershire County Council's Trading Standards team confiscated counterfeit items worth £10,000 from traders at Stow Fair.It comes a day after officers seized knives and pellet guns sold by rogue traders at Stow Horse Fair.Working with police, officers confiscated fake products branded as Superdry, Gucci, Versace, D&G, Burberry, Chanel, Armani, Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, Ugg, Beats, Adidas,...
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Seven years behind bars for 'controlling' drugs baron PJ Maguire
NOTORIOUS Gloucester gangster Patrick 'PJ' Maguire has been jailed for seven and a half years for masterminding a £200,000 cocaine conspiracy.The 41-year-old, described by police as the 'controlling mind' in the case, smiled and waved at family members in the packed public gallery at Bristol Court Room yesterday.Maguire was among six defendants – three from Gloucester and the others from Cheltenham, Birmingham and Worcester – jailed for their part in the drugs conspiracy.His...
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PJ Maguire: The cheeky chappy who thought he could beat the cops
MY first, albeit indirect, contact with Patrick 'PJ' Maguire was when some years ago I interviewed his sister Sue about an unrelated Jermaine Robotham, the father of her children.Then and over subsequent years, I learned about a high profile, devil-may-care criminal who was an unmistakable thorn in the side of the law-abiding citizens of Gloucester.But whenever newspaper stories about the man (often penned by yours truly) appeared, my telephone would be red hot and the reception area of The...
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Cheltenham man jailed for part in cocaine supply gang
A CHELTENHAM man has been jailed for his role in a drugs gang which plotted to supply £250,000 of cocaine into the county.Mark Clemmens, 43, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison at Bristol Crown Court yesterday.Clemmens, of Laxton Road in Hester's Way, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs.The case centred around the supply of high purity cocaine from Birmingham and Worcester to Gloucester, with two quarter kilogram packages of the drug seized by police on...
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Did you witness foiled bag snatch?
POLICE are searching for a man who tried to snatch a pensioner's bag.He grabbed it so hard that he broke the bag, but escaped empty-handed.Police in Wotton-under-Edge are appealing for witnesses to the attempted robbery on Thursday, May 9.It happened between 5.10pm and 5.20pm as a 68-year-old local woman was walking along the lane that leads between Long Street and Old Town.Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call 101, quoting incident number 363 of May 9.
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Man charged with attempted murder after doctor was "stabbed&...
A MAN has been charged with attempted murder after a doctor was stabbed following a visit to a patient in Tewkesbury.The victim, a 58-year-old doctor at Church Street Surgery in Tewkesbury, was being treated for stab wounds to his shoulder and several other injuries following an alleged attack.The incident happened at an address in Cotteswold Road at about 3.50pm on Wednesday, May 8.His injuries are not life threatening.ArrestedPolice have now arrested and charged a suspected attacker.They have...
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Last chance saloon burglar Joseph Kaleja in jail after breaking...
REPEAT burglar Joseph Kaleja is in jail after being told he was in the last chance saloon less than a month ago.Kaleja, 24, of Goodyere Street, was given a suspended prison sentence in mid-March after admitting five burglaries in Gloucester.But just weeks later he was breaking into another home – smashing a window and stealing a laptop from Henry Road while the occupants were on holiday on April 7.Judge Jamie Tabor QC said Kaleja, who is Czech by birth, had been 'very lucky' to escape...
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Victims of crime could 'fall through cracks' says support charity
THOUSANDS of victims may be left to cope with the aftermath of crime alone, a charity has warned.Victim Support has spoken against Government plans to scrap automatic referral to support services.Whitehall wants to make a change to the Code for Victims which would mean only those who are 'vulnerable' or have suffered a 'serious' crime would be referred.People who have been assaulted, burgled or robbed will have to find out for themselves what support is available. Between April 2012 and March...
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Former boss of bird sanctuary in court over theft and fraud
THE former boss of a bird sanctuary borrowed endangered species from zoos – then sold them, a court heard yesterday.Keith Beaven, 68, convinced wildlife centres to loan him various creatures to help protect their populations, it was said. He was charged with 11 counts of theft and fraud offences. He pleaded not guilty to four counts of theft, four counts of fraud and one of selling an endangered animal – namely three black kites.He pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud and one of...
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Police: 'We'll get dealer PJ Maguire's drug money'
ILL-GOTTEN gains banked by drugs baron PJ Maguire could soon be seized.Maguire, 41, of Thomas Stock Gardens in Abbeymead, was sent down for seven-and-a-half years on Friday for masterminding a £200,000 cocaine ring.And, if police get their way, he will not be returning to the lifestyle he has become accustomed to after his sentence is complete.Officers have confirmed they will pursue court orders to seize Maguire's cash assets. Detective Superintendent Marc Flannery said: "We will be...
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Former Newent bird sanctuary owner 'illegally sold endangered...
THE former boss of Newent's International Birds of Prey Centre pretended to run a rare breeding programme so he could borrow endangered species from zoos but then sold them, a court heard yesterday.Keith Beaven, 68, convinced wildlife centres across Britain and Europe to loan him various creatures to help protect their populations, it was said at Gloucester Crown Court.But he is then alleged to have faked or altered official ownership certificates and sold the birds of prey to different...
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Women urged not to walk alone at night following robbery
WOMEN should not walk alone through Cheltenham after dark, a councillor has warned after another late-night attack in the town.Simon Wheeler, borough councillor for Hester's Way, said he was appalled following the mugging of a 23-year-old woman, who was walking in the area in the early hours of Sunday.She was walking down Russet Road at 1.35am when she was robbed by a hooded man on a bicycle, who pushed her to the floor during the robbery.The incident comes after a number of late-night...
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Falconer left 'horrified' by the state of Newent Birds of Prey...
FALCONER Jemima Parry-Jones told a court she was "horrified" to see the state of the bird park she sold to a man who stands accused of fraud.She sold the International Birds of Prey Centre in Newent to Beaven in 2004 when she moved to America.But she told Gloucester Crown Court yesterday it was in a bad state when she bought it back in 2008.She said she left around 120 birds, including owls and endangered kites, but on her return found a sole one-eyed black-chested snake eagle.Beaven,...
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Huge 'dent' in Gloucester's cocaine supply after PJ Maguire...
A HUGE dent has been made in Gloucester's cocaine supply after the jailing of a drugs baron.The city's streets are also safer, say police, after 41-year-old PJ Maguire, from Abbeymead, was sentenced to seven-and- a-half years in jail on Friday for masterminding a £200,000 cocaine ring.Detective Inspector Ian Fletcher, of the force's crime operations unit, said: "The conviction of Maguire and his associates represents a very significant dent in the supply of cocaine in Gloucester and...
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Jail for drug dealing to pay dog's vet bill
A DRUG dealer caught with illegal substances three times in three months did it to pay a vet's bill for his dog, a court heard.Sean Lewis was jailed for six months after admitting possession of cannabis with intent to supply following a police search of his home on September 1.Prosecutor Julian Kesner said Lewis was arrested for an unrelated matter, which prosecutors decided not to proceed with, and was then found with three bags of drugs.He said police found two bags of cocaine, worth around...
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Dangerous driver Ishmael Butler stops unpaid work because he is...
DANGEROUS driver Ishmael Butler, who stole a car and jumped red lights before crashing twice, told a court he failed to turn up to unpaid work because he was depressed.The 30-year-old admitted aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, having no insurance or licence and failing to stop after an accident following the police chase in December last year.Butler, of Beaufort Road, Gloucester, was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years in March and ordered to carry out 60...
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