Banbury area man jailed for threatening behaviour, including racially aggravated incident - Court Report

The following cases were heard at Oxford Magistrates’ Court:

- Michael Gallagher, 39, of HMP Bullingdon, Arncott, Bicester pleaded guilty to driving a Citroen car in Grange Road, Banbury on June 13, 2020 with excess cannabis and cocaine in his blood. Gallagher was fined £100 and disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 18 months. He also pleaded guilty to driving without insurance for which he was fined £300 and ordered to pay a £34 victim surcharge and £85 court costs. Gallagher additionally pleaded guilty to driving without a licence on the same occasion. There was no separate penalty for this offence.

- Jeffrey Gyimah, 18, of Queensbridge Road, Hackney, London admitted three counts of breaching bail conditions and was arrested by a constable. Gyimah had been outside the inclusion zone of his bail condition on December 1, 2020, leaving High Street, Banbury on three separate occasions. Gyimah was readmitted to bail conditions until his court hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court on January 5 and was subjected to an electronic curfew at a property in Dashwood Court, Banbury, nightly from 6pm - 9am to ensure his appearance at court and to prevent interference with witnesses.

- Michael Finbar Kearney, 50, of Old London Road, Chipping Norton was given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for a year, for assaulting a man in Abingdon on July 31, 2019. He was ordered to complete a rehabilitation activity requirement. Kearney changed his plea from not guilty to guilty. He pleaded guilty to criminal damage of a window belonging to Andrews Estate Agent in Oxford on December 14, 2019 and was ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation. He also changed his plea to guilty in respect of an assault against a man in Witney on December 26, 2019. Magistrates heard he spat at one person and hit another. Kearney was sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment, suspended for a year (to run concurrently) because of his catalogue of offending and unrpovoked attacks. He was ordered to pay compensation of £100. Kearney additionally changed his plea to guilty of using threatening behaviour in Witney on the same day. There was no separate penalty for this offence.

- Jonathon Stear, 37, admitted two counts of breaching his bail conditions by failing to sign on at Banbury Police Station on November 30, 2020 and failing to observe a curfew between December 6 and 7, 2020. Stear was readmitted to conditional bail until his appearance at Oxford Crown Court on January 7 and subjected to an electronic curfew between 9pm and 6am daily, allowed within 2 metres of the back door to smoke, not to enter Oxford Road and to report daily to Banbury Police Station between 2pm and 4pm.

- Aaron Joines, 33, of Rochester Way, Twyford, Adderbury admitted using threatening behaviour to a man in Banbury on November 28, 2019. Joines pleaded guilty to another case of threatening behaviour against another man on the same occasion. Joines pleaded not guilty to two more charges of threatening behaviour against one of the same men on December 30, 2019 but was found guilty. One of these incidents was found to be racially aggravated. He was sentenced to six weeks in jail. The term was uplifted from four to six weeks to reflect the racial element in one of the offences. Joines was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £122.

- Akhtar Bhamra, 38, of Dovedale Avenue, Coventry pleaded guilty to harassment of a woman in Banbury between October 23, 2020 and November 21, 2020. Bhamra was subjected to a community order requiring him to participate in a 33-day accredited programme on Building Better Relationships. He was ordered to pay a £95 victim surcharge.