Oxford News
Oxford Crown Court – round-up of 10 criminals jailed in March
Neil Stafford
A conman was jailed for stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Neil Stafford, 60, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Monday, March 2.
In November last year a jury found him guilty of seven counts of fraud by false representation by unanimous verdicts after a two-month trial.
The total amount paid to Stafford by the seven people was £882,000.
The total repaid was just £141,800, which meant a loss of around £740,000.
Stafford was jailed for a total of nine years and banned from being a company director for 15 years.
Berajd Mazari
An Albanian man has been jailed for behaviour against a woman which included controlling the clothes she wore, the friends she saw and forcing her to take drugs.
Berajd Mazari, of Lark Rise, Brackley, in Northamptonshire, was accused of the offences in Banbury in 2024.
On Friday, January 23, a jury in Oxford found him guilty of controlling and coercive behaviour, and being in possession of an imitation firearm.
The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to being in possession of cannabis and cocaine and being in possession of a fake Italian driving licence.
He was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on March 6.
Mazari was jailed for 30 months and given a restraining order against the victim and her mother for seven years.
Francis Nala-Hartley
A violent thug kicked the door of his ex-partner and punched her mother in the face after taking drugs, a court heard.
Francis Nala-Hartley, of Edgecombe Road, Headington, was jailed at Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday, March 10.
The 30-year-old pleaded guilty two counts of failing to surrender to police bail.
He was tried and convicted in his absence for one count of assault, causing actual bodily harm, last year.
Nala-Hartley was jailed for a total of 22 months.
Daniel Carruthers
A drug dealer who hid heroin and crack cocaine in deodorant cans was jailed.
Daniel Carruthers, of Blue Mountains, Wallingford, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday, March 26.
The 34-year-old was found guilty at a trial last year of possession with intent to supply two class A drugs, namely heroin and crack cocaine.
It related to an incident when police found drugs at an address in Northfield Road, Headington, on May 29 last year.
Carruthers was jailed for a total of eight years and orders were made for the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs and phone found.
Charlotte McCollin
An Oxford woman, with more than 200 previous offences, was jailed for violence and intimidation.
Charlotte McCollin, of Botley Road, Oxford, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday, March 25.
The 34-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by beating, one count of intimidating a witness, one count of theft and one count of criminal damage.
McCollin was jailed for two years and given a five-year restraining order to not contact the victim.
Laurence Whittaker
An Oxfordshire man has been jailed for an attack on his ex and his ex’s mum which left both with multiple injuries.
Laurence Whittaker, of Cowley Road, Oxford, was sentenced to a combined eight years at Oxford Crown Court.
He received two prison sentences to run consecutively for his actions on January 10, 2025, with six years given for the section 18 wounding with intent to commit grievous bodily harm against Lindsay Webber, his former partner’s mother.
For the assault occasioning actual bodily harm against former partner, Jessica Clements, he received two years.
The court issued restraining orders for 10 years on him for both women.
James Alder and Brendon Shamu
Two drug dealers were jailed for their roles in operating a county line in Oxfordshire.
James Alder and Brendon Shamu were sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Friday, March 27.
Alder, 21, of Limborough Road, Wantage, and Shamu, 27, of Field Gardens, Steventon, near Abingdon, were both charged with drug dealing offences in Abingdon between October 1 last year and January 23 this year.
Both men pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, namely crack cocaine and heroin.
Shamu also pleaded guilty to being in possession of criminal property, namely £8,795 in cash.
Shamu was jailed for a total of 49 months and Alder for three years.
Orders were made for the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs, paraphernalia, phones and cash.
Henry Williams
Two robbers, armed with a knife and a crowbar, threatened a shop worker and emptied the till of money in a ‘terrifying’ incident.
Henry Williams, of Orchard Way, Banbury, was jailed at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday, March 26.
The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, committed on New Year’s Eve last year at the Quick Stop, in Warwick Road, Banbury.
The court heard that Williams, and an unidentified man, entered the shop just before 8am on the day in question.
Williams was jailed for a total of 42 months.
Ryan Corbett
A man who lied about his BMW crash was jailed.
Ryan Corbett, of Derwent Avenue, Headington, was given a two-year prison sentence.
On February 4, a jury had found him guilty of both crimes by unanimous verdict after around 20 minutes of deliberation.
The 43-year-old had denied fraud by false representation and perverting the course of justice in Oxford on September 4, 2022.
The daughter of former footballer David and ex Spice Girl Victoria lives with her family in Oxfordshire.
She had been working on a skincare line inspired by Korean beauty, initially branded HIKU by Harper and aimed at Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers.
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However, according to cosmetics industry reports and US filings, the US Patent and Trademark Office refused her first application in July “because of a likelihood of confusion” with existing trademarks already registered in the country.
Documents cited by cosmeticsbusiness.com show that “Hiku” is already protected for personal care products and fragrances, while “Harper” appears on the register for cleaning products such as brooms and scrubbing brushes – blocking the path for “HIKU by Harper” in those categories.
Coverage of the setback notes that Harper had six months to respond to the provisional refusal if she wants to challenge the decision or narrow the scope of the American filing.
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Yet, now, she is pursuing a new brand, this time focused around make-up and called Harlo by Harper.
According to The Sun, the teenager has lodged papers with the US Patent and Trademark Office asking to be granted sole rights to use the name and with the UK’s Intellectual Property Office to trademark the brand.
The aim is to launch the brand at some point next year, as the only daughter of the Beckhams seeks to build a beauty empire.
A source for the paper added that Victoria has been “guiding her every step of the way”.
Contemporary clothing label Vuori has launched a store at Bicester Village this week, its first store outside of London.
To mark the opening of the store, Bicester Village welcomed guests to an exclusive Pilates session before the shops even opened their doors.
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Headquartered in San Diego and founded more than a decade ago, the brand has built a reputation for premium, performance-led leisurewear.
The new Bicester Village store will offer a carefully curated selection of bestsellers, including its Halo pants, the Vuori All The Feels collection and pieces from its popular Tom Holland golf collaboration.
Alongside those ranges, prices will be exclusive to the outlet, making it Vuori’s first UK discount boutique location and offering shoppers in Oxfordshire a chance to snap up the brand’s signature styles at lower prices than in its standard stores.
The Deep Purple star was once the owner of The Springs Resort & Golf Club in North Stoke near Wallingford – now part of the Talacre-based Darwin Escapes portfolio
The rock singer’s guitar-shaped swimming pool is no more, but resort manager Ben Scholes said in 2024 renovations and new facilities – including the 1893 spa and Ridgeway Restaurant – have proved incredibly popular with visitors from across the UK and beyond.
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Ian Gillan has other strong Oxfordshire connections – one night early in 1983 a meeting at a different hotel in the county led to him joining heavy rock contemporaries Black Sabbath.
He told Mojo magazine’s Hello Goodbye column that he joined Black Sabbath after getting a call from Tony Iommi suggesting a drink somewhere between Birmingham and Reading.
Ian Gillan said: “We decided upon The Bear at Woodstock. I was driving an orange two-litre Fiat Mirafiori, which got rear-ended by a guy who was chasing me and didn’t see me stop at a junction.
“I pulled up outside The Bear with a wreck of a car.
“I can’t remember anything else until the next day when I had a call from my manager Phil Banfield.
“He said something along the lines of ‘Ian if you are going to be making major career decisions you should be talking to me first’.
“Apparently we had a few drinks and they (Black Sabbath) offered me the gig and I, who had nothing else on at the time, agreed.”
Ian Gillan told Mojo Black Sabbath then went straight to the Manor Studio in Shipton-on-Cherwell to record the Born Again album.
The singer added that during the recording sessions he was camping in the grounds in a small tent.
“I like camping and cooking my breakfast over an open fire. After breakfast I would go into the studio to hear what they had put down and then start work on the lyrics,” he told the magazine.
The singer left Black Sabbath after about a year, as it was agreed he should make one album and tour for a year.
He added: “I was incompatible, our backgrounds were chalk and cheese, musically and geographically.”
Ian Gillan rejoined Deep Purple in 1984 and remains a member of the band.
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