JURORS were made aware of both men's criminal past and their use of weapons before they were asked to return a verdict.
Usually, a jury is kept ignorant of past misdemeanours of those in the dock. They are told by the judge the prosecutors have to convince them of a person's guilty and each defendant appears before them with a clean slate.
However, the Criminal Justice Act of 2003 allowed – in certain circumstances – prosecutors to inform a jury about a defendant's "bad character".
The legislation means a court hears "evidence of or a disposition towards misconduct"
Simon Laws QC for the Crown Prosecution Service successfully argued to be allowed to tell the jury of previous convictions of both Williams and Pemberton.
In March 2009 Williams was convicted of being in possession of offensive weapons – a hammer and golf club – in St Budeaux Square.
In August the same year he was charged with affray and criminal damage after intimidating a neighbour and making threats to kill by burning down the neighbours' housing with his children inside. The jury was told the neighbour had to move home but when he came to collect his belongings, Williams attacked him with a garden spade.
In June 2010 Williams was found in a public place with a five inch kitchen knife.
In March 2011 he threatened a bus driver in Wolseley Road with a kitchen knife.
The driver, who was on his break, had received abuse from a small group of youths which included Williams. As the driver got back on his bus, Williams followed him and brandished the knife saying: "I will stab you up, cut you up you pussyo" before lunging at the driver.
Fortunately the terrified driver was able to shut the doors in time.
The jury was told that on Christmas Eve, 2011 police were called about an argument in Torpoint between Williams and a young woman at an address.
Williams had threatened to stab the girl with a knife.
He was later found by police officers at a taxi rank in Ferry Road, Devonport, drunk and with a eight inch kitchen knife in his sock.
After initially pleading not guilty he was convicted of the offence in November 2012.
He was handed a 12 month jail term and told by the judge "The knives are getting bigger".
The jury was told Pemberton, pleaded guilty to battery after an unprovoked assault on a man on December 24, 2013 outside Jesters nightclub in Union Street. The court was told he "swore and taunted a male" who walked away. Pemberton ran up to him and punched him in the face.
A court report by The Herald saw the prosecutor explain how Pemberton had become aggressive initially to a group of revellers, shouting 'come on then, let's have it'. Pemberton went on to lash out at two police officers called to the scene.
Pemberton later claimed he was 'too drunk' to remember what was happening.
During the murder trial, he was asked why he carried out such an unprovoked attack, to which he replied the man he punched had "annoyed" him.
The jury in the murder trial were not told that in mitigation, his defence solicitor told the district judge Pemberton was a "young man of just 19" who had "put in an application to join the army".
The solicitor added: "if only the court could sentence to two years in the army, I think that would be sufficient for this young man".
At the time the district judge told Pemberton: "You are within a whisker of me saying that a custodial sentence is appropriate", before handing him a fine and ordered him to carry out 150 hours unpaid work.
In September 2014 Pemberton pleaded guilty to an offence which took place in June the same year after he was found to be in possession of a machete in Uxbridge Drive.
The murder trial jury was later told he had kept the machete down his trousers and did not pull it out.
The Herald's court report states that Pemberton had bought the machete from a friend which he wanted as a "decorative item" for his bedroom.
He was outside the Bull and Bush pub in Uxbridge Drive, Ernesettle to meet a friend. He showed the item to his friend "but", his defence solicitor said "kept it primarily in its sheaf. It was not fully removed and it was not brandished, nor were any threats made. He tells me he had no intention of using it."
The solicitor added that Pemberton: "essentially panicked when he realised the police were on the scene and disposed of the knife, in what was perhaps a realisation on his part of the trouble he was in".
In mitigation, the court was told he was helping to care for his mother who had cancer, ever since he lost his job at a quarry.
He was jailed by magistrates for four months.
He was released in November after serving half his sentence.
The jury were told that on December 15, 2014 Pemberton and three other young men got a taxi to the city centre.
The Herald has learned the trip came about following a Facebook exchange.
A witness walking home from a Christmas party later told police he saw two men running along the street, both looking scared and frantic.
Moments later he was confronted by four males asking him where the two other men went, saying they wanted to "teach them a lesson".
The witness told police they seemed "intimidating, confrontational, angry".
One of the men – Pemberton – had what the witness described as two 'butcher type knives' later found to be meat cleavers who said: "We're going to cut them up".
Video footage, taken from Anstis Street, clearly showed Pemberton brandishing the two cleavers, threatening a group of other men who passed by.
Pemberton was arrested the following day.
The murder jury were shown the dramatic footage and told Pemberton pleaded guilty to the offence of affray on October 19 this year.
A few days ahead of the trial The Herald asked Pemberton's mother Suzanne asked if she wanted to speak about her son, of his childhood, his hopes and dreams as a young boy and what may have led him to become him fascinated with knives and violence.
Mrs Pemberton declined to talk to The Herald.
Her only statement, offered forcefully, was: "My son never hurt no-one.
"What you printed in the paper was lies.
"The police told me what you printed was lies.
"We don't want to talk to you people. You just print lies.
"You will see the truth in court."
At the home of Williams, there was no answer the week before the trial.
While one next-door neighbour's home showed an assortment of bikes and scooters, the other side revealed a well-tended garden.
Each of the neighbours who answered The Herald's door knock blanched at the mention of Williams and made it plain they were fearful about speaking on the matter.
One man, in his 60s, shook his head worriedly at the mention of Williams and closed the door quickly saying: "No, no sorry mate, I just don't want to talk about him, I don't want to get involved."
Another neighbour, a young woman, responded similarly at the mention of Williams, her smile dropping immediately as she whispered: "I don't want to get involved."
TWO men have been jailed for life – with a minimum term of 23 years – for the murder of Tanis Bhandari on New Year's Day.
Donald Pemberton was found guilty of jointly murdering the 27-year-old builder and injuring four other men.
The jury at Plymouth Crown Court appeared to have reached deadlock after deliberating for 13 hours and 55 minutes since they were sent out on Tuesday morning by Mr Justice Nigel Teare.
At 11.34am yesterday he informed the jury of seven women and five men he would accept majority verdicts if they were unable to return a unanimous ones.
A little over an hour later they returned to seal Pemberton's fate. He was found guilty on the count of murder, three counts of wounding with intent and one count of actual bodily harm, each with an 11 to 1 majority.
Despite being asked by the judge to remain silent during the verdicts being read out, stifled gasps and crying could be heard from the public gallery, which has remained full for nearly every day of the 16-day trial.
Tanis Bhandari
Pemberton, aged 21, gave no great reaction as the verdicts were read out. He appeared to look around the court room, place his hands on his hips and behind his back, occasionally rubbing his face with the back of his hands.
Pemberton, of Victoria Road, St Budeaux, and his co-defendant, Ryan Williams, of Haydon Grove, St Budeaux – who pleaded guilty to all five charges on the fourth day of the trial – were brought back to the dock in the afternoon where their respective advocates offered mitigation in their defence.
Pemberton, who throughout the trial had been dressed in a dark grey shirt and black tie, had changed into a black and grey sweat-top, while 22-year-old Williams, appeared in a light blue shirt and dark tie.
Paul Dunkels, QC, said his client Ryan Williams had shown "absolute cowardice" in attacking unarmed strangers and was "undoubtedly an immature young man."
He said Williams had never set out to kill, but accepted that they did set out to cause serious injury – in itself enough to make him guilty of the offence.
He noted their "escalating behaviour" on the way down the hill to Tamerton Foliot green.
He said Williams was "relishing the reaction which their behaviour was achieving, their sense of power over others and the people who backed away.
"The final group stood up for themselves as they were entitled to do. It was a situation entirely of Donald Pemberton's and Ryan Williams' making."
Mr Dunkels said that Williams wanted to posture with the weapons and verbally abuse those men he had targeted from Facebook.
He said it was a "small step" from carrying a knife to using it.
He stressed the defendant's age and immaturity but said he had seen the need to plead guilty on the fourth day of the trial.
Pemberton and Williams
Mr Dunkels said: "To paraphrase, he said he saw the family and friends of Tanis Bhandari in court and what they were having to go through. He saw their pain and upset.
"He then indicated to us that he wanted to be no part of prolonging their ordeal in having to observe the trial.
"He realises that the hurt caused goes far wider than just those victims but embraces their families and friends and to some extent his own family.
"He understands how much his actions have affected the lives of others.
"He is sorry for what he did that night. He has remorse. He realises that none of that will bring comfort to those grieving.
"His actions of January 1 were those of absolute cowardice but he is a young man who, knowing the consequence was a very long time in prison, has shown some courage in taking the decision to plead guilty."
Pemberton's advocate, Martin Meeke, QC, said his client suffered "significant mental health difficulties" and revealed his suicide attempt just four weeks before the incident on the Tamerton Foliot green.
Mr Meeke said a psychiatrist who has assessed Pemberton suspected developing schizophrenia, although the court also heard his symptoms may have been caused by his regular mephedrone abuse.
The barrister said he still suffered those symptoms even after going to prison and withdrawing from the drug.
Mr Meeke said that Pemberton's suicide attempt had taken place on December 2, and that he was on the lowest possible measure on the Glasgow Coma scale – the measure of a casualty's consciousness.
Mr Meeke said it showed it was a "serious attempt".
He speculated that the events of New Year's Day may have had their roots back to 2007 when Pemberton himself was the victim of a street attack.
Mr Meeke said his mother had reported that he suffered a fractured cheekbone, but 13-year-old Pemberton did not give evidence against the main offender.
The court heard that he nevertheless was branded a "grass" or informer at his school.
Mr Meeke said he had started off confidently at secondary school but underwent a "significant change" after the attack.
The barrister said the defendant came to believe that others were "out to get him" and thought that he needed to carry weapons as a result.
He added that Pemberton showed empathy for Mr Bhandari's family when he read a statement from her mother.
Mr Meeke said: "He observed: 'I have written letters to his mum but ripped them up because I did not want her to feel awkward'."
He added he could not recall the events of the night of the affray in Anstis Street when he had brandished meat cleavers at a group of Polish men, because he had been drinking.
But Mr Meeke said that when shown the dramatic CCTV footage Pemberton branded his own behaviour as "disgusting".
He could not recall where he had picked up the weapons.
Mr Meeke urged Mr Justice Teare to pass a minimum term "so as not to crush utterly the hope in this young man".
Tamerton Foliot
Mr Justice Teare described how the two men had confronted the "happy and carefree" group of young men and women who had left The Kings Arms public house shortly after 1.30am.
He said there was "no doubt" Pemberton had the axe and Williams had a large kitchen knife and that one of them had a smaller knife.
He said both defendants were in "an aggressive mood", aiming to take the weapons to a confrontation "with someone who had angered Pemberton".
The mixture of verbal insults, threats, aggressive behaviour led to Williams getting out the large knife and putting it to the neck of a young man "no doubt causing extreme fear".
Mr Justice Teare told the court Pemberton pulled out the axe and "lunged" at Tanis's group.
He added: "One or more of the group reacted with courage by jumping on him, in – as described by one witness – 'a mission' to get the axe off him.
"They succeeded, but Williams joined in and stabbed Tanis Bhandari in the back with the large knife."
He said Williams also stabbed Jamie Healy. Sean Cordon was also stabbed in the back and Mr Justice Teare said this could have been by Pemberton, "but I cannot be sure."
He said: "The result of this unnecessary and unprovoked action was that Tanis Bhandari lost his life. Jamie Healy suffered very serious injuries. his life was saved by doctors. Fortunately the injuries of Sean Cordon, George Walker and Matthew Daw were less serious."
The judge noted the victim impact statements he had received, noting one from Tanis's mother.
He said Tanis died aged just 27, leaving a mother, father, stepfather, grandfather, seven brothers and sisters together with nieces and nephews.
He said Tanis was a "much loved member of the community of Tamerton Foliot as the memorial on the green shows."
He added: "His unexpected and unnecessary death and what happened on a night of celebration and optimism for the future has changed his family's lives forever."
After passing sentence the two men were led away by the eight dock officers who had remained with them. As they turned towards the door a member of Pemberton's family called out "love you Don, always".
HOW POLICE FOUND JUSTICE FOR TANIS
A NIGHT of friendly revelry turned "into a complete nightmare" which could easily have seen more than just one murder, say detectives who carried out the inquiry.
Det Insp Ian Ringrose, Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) and Det Sgt Chris Rooney (deputy SIO) spoke to The Herald about the lengthy and thorough investigation which resulted in one man admitting his guilt just four days into the trial and the other being found guilty of all charges by a marjority verdict on the 16th day.
Det Sgt Rooney noted what many in the city realised after the details came out during the trial – that the victims could have been anybody on that day.
He said: "This could have happened to so many people. Everyone could be put into the position that Tanis Bhandari was. We could have been looking at two or even three murders. Any one of those people involved in this altercation could have been the deceased.
"They [Williams and Pemberton] had intent to cause harm. They weren't going out as New Year's revellers."
As they gathered statements from witnesses, investigators became keenly aware of a singular issue regarding traumatic incidents involving a large number of people who had been drinking. No two stories were exactly the same. Det Insp Ringrose said: "It can happen in such situations. You can get tunnel vision."
Despite there being a knife used at the scene, few remembered even seeing such a weapon.
Det Insp Ringrose said: "Knives are so dangerous and a knife is easily concealed."
Det Sgt Rooney said: "Some witnesses who were there had different versions of the incident. One had nothing. It's very understandable because this was the most horrific incident anyone there has ever been involved with."
Det Insp Ringrose, agreed, adding: "Including the police officers who turned up."
The investigators said around 10 999 calls were made to police and the ambulance service that night.
Officers arrived and instantly had to deal with multiple scenes – Station Road where Tanis lay dying, the green where the attack took place, The Kings Arms public house where witnesses and injured victims were taken, as well as the lengthy of Milford Lane where the suspects were last seen.
Det Sgt Rooney said: "There were police cars and ambulances all around the area. I can't get my head around all that those officers and paramedics had to do that night – different scenes to control, different locations to be at, numerous injured and distressed people."
As equally proud of his fellow officers and colleagues in the ambulance service, Det Sgt Rooney and Det Insp Ringrose have heaped praise on the victims of the terrifying assault, their families and the wider Tamerton Foliot community.
Det Sgt Rooney said: "The impact on the community cannot be underestimated. The thing that has stood out for me is the number of people affected by this, right across the Tamerton Foliot community.
"The support we've had from the families has been brilliant. Jamie Healy, George Walker, Sean Cordon, Matthew Daw, the family and friends of Tanis Bhandari – they have shown absolute dignity and the people of Tamerton Foliot helped us from the very first day.
"We've been able to go into a great deal of detail, carried out house to house inquiries, work out the exact route the pair travelled."
Some of the witnesses came forward of their own volition while investigators were able to trace others.
Det Sgt Rooney said: "Each added a piece to our inquiry. Sometimes it was thought by the witness to be a small, seemingly insignificant piece, but ultimately it showed what they [Williams and Pemberton] were heading towards."
Det Insp Ringrose agreed, noting: "They weren't out there as victims. They were out there looking for victims. They made sure of that. They stacked the odds in their favour from the outset.
"It turned into a complete nightmare. No-one could have second guessed what Williams and Pemberton would have done that night."
Det Sgt Rooney concurs, adding: "I hope no-one would ever find themselves in that situation. For whatever reasons they [Williams and Pemberton] left the party intent on doing something terrible."
And terrible it was, as Det Sgt Rooney said some witnesses, including police and paramedics, talked about seeing a scene which they thought they would "only ever see in a film".
Looking back at the case and the comments from witnesses, Det Sgt Rooney returns to the single most worrying aspect of the case – the complete randomness of the victims.
He said: "What makes it unique for me is who it could have been that night. We've had witnesses turn around and genuinely say 'that could've been me'. We had four people who could have been the victims just seconds before Williams and Pemberton attacked the larger group."
Det Sgt Rooney also noted how Tanis Bhandari suffered two wounds to his back while both Sean Cordon and Jamie Healy also suffered wounds to their backs.
Without making further comment about the cowardice an attack from behind on three men was, Det Sgt Rooney suggests the injuries themselves were "particularly telling" about the person who inflicted them.
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
JURORS were made aware of both men's criminal past and their use of weapons before they were asked to return a verdict.
Usually, a jury is kept ignorant of past misdemeanours of those in the dock. They are told by the judge the prosecutors have to convince them of a person's guilty and each defendant appears before them with a clean slate.
However, the Criminal Justice Act of 2003 allowed – in certain circumstances – prosecutors to inform a jury about a defendant's "bad character".
The legislation means a court hears "evidence of or a disposition towards misconduct"
Simon Laws QC for the Crown Prosecution Service successfully argued to be allowed to tell the jury of previous convictions of both Williams and Pemberton.
In March 2009 Williams was convicted of being in possession of offensive weapons – a hammer and golf club – in St Budeaux Square.
In August the same year he was charged with affray and criminal damage after intimidating a neighbour and making threats to kill by burning down the neighbours' housing with his children inside. The jury was told the neighbour had to move home but when he came to collect his belongings, Williams attacked him with a garden spade.
In June 2010 Williams was found in a public place with a five inch kitchen knife.
In March 2011 he threatened a bus driver in Wolseley Road with a kitchen knife.
The driver, who was on his break, had received abuse from a small group of youths which included Williams. As the driver got back on his bus, Williams followed him and brandished the knife saying: "I will stab you up, cut you up you pussyo" before lunging at the driver.
Fortunately the terrified driver was able to shut the doors in time.
The jury was told that on Christmas Eve, 2011 police were called about an argument in Torpoint between Williams and a young woman at an address.
Williams had threatened to stab the girl with a knife.
He was later found by police officers at a taxi rank in Ferry Road, Devonport, drunk and with a eight inch kitchen knife in his sock.
After initially pleading not guilty he was convicted of the offence in November 2012.
He was handed a 12 month jail term and told by the judge "The knives are getting bigger".
The jury was told Pemberton, pleaded guilty to battery after an unprovoked assault on a man on December 24, 2013 outside Jesters nightclub in Union Street. The court was told he "swore and taunted a male" who walked away. Pemberton ran up to him and punched him in the face.
A court report by The Herald saw the prosecutor explain how Pemberton had become aggressive initially to a group of revellers, shouting "come on then, let's have it". Pemberton went on to lash out at two police officers called to the scene.
Pemberton later claimed he was "too drunk" to remember what was happening.
During the murder trial, he was asked why he carried out such an unprovoked attack, to which he replied the man he punched had "annoyed" him.
The jury in the murder trial were not told that in mitigation, his defence solicitor told the district judge Pemberton was a "young man of just 19" who had "put in an application to join the army".
The solicitor added: "if only the court could sentence to two years in the army, I think that would be sufficient for this young man".
At the time the district judge told Pemberton: "You are within a whisker of me saying that a custodial sentence is appropriate", before handing him a fine and ordered him to carry out 150 hours unpaid work.
In September 2014 Pemberton pleaded guilty to an offence which took place in June the same year after he was found to be in possession of a machete in Uxbridge Drive.
The murder trial jury was later told he had kept the machete down his trousers and did not pull it out.
The Herald's court report states that Pemberton had bought the machete from a friend which he wanted as a "decorative item" for his bedroom.
He was outside the Bull and Bush pub in Uxbridge Drive, Ernesettle to meet a friend. He showed the item to his friend "but", his defence solicitor said "kept it primarily in its sheaf. It was not fully removed and it was not brandished, nor were any threats made. He tells me he had no intention of using it."
The solicitor added that Pemberton: "essentially panicked when he realised the police were on the scene and disposed of the knife, in what was perhaps a realisation on his part of the trouble he was in".
In mitigation, the court was told he was helping to care for his mother who had cancer, ever since he lost his job at a quarry.
He was jailed by magistrates for four months.
He was released in November after serving half his sentence.
The jury were told that on December 15, 2014 Pemberton and three other young men got a taxi to the city centre.
The Herald has learned the trip came about following a Facebook exchange.
A witness walking home from a Christmas party later told police he saw two men running along the street, both looking scared and frantic.
Moments later he was confronted by four males asking him where the two other men went, saying they wanted to "teach them a lesson".
The witness told police they seemed "intimidating, confrontational, angry".
One of the men – Pemberton – had what the witness described as two "butcher type knives", later found to be meat cleavers, had said: "We're going to cut them up".
Video footage, taken from Anstis Street, clearly showed Pemberton brandishing the two cleavers, threatening a group of other men who passed by.
Pemberton was arrested the following day.
The murder jury were shown the dramatic footage and told Pemberton pleaded guilty to the offence of affray on October 19 this year.
KILLER FRIENDS FOR JUST SIX WEEKS
THE jury heard how the two men whose actions led to Tanis Bhandari's death and serious injuries to four others had only been friend for a handful of weeks.
The court heard how the two had attended the same school, but with Williams a year older, the pair had not mixed.
It was only when Williams started dating Pemberton's sister, Suzie, and Pemberton was released from prison in mid-November, that the two got to know each other.
Over the next six weeks their few Facebook images capture their kind of friendship – arms over each others shoulders, giving the finger, grinning alongside cans and bottles of alcohol or snarling as they brandish weapons.
DENIAL OF A MURDERER'S MOTHER
A FEW days ahead of the trial The Herald asked Pemberton's mother Suzanne asked if she wanted to speak about her son, of his childhood, his hopes and dreams as a young boy and what may have led him to become him fascinated with knives and violence.
Mrs Pemberton declined to talk to The Herald.
Her only statement, offered forcefully, was: "My son never hurt no-one. What you printed in the paper was lies.
"The police told me what you printed was lies. We don't want to talk to you people. You just print lies.
"You will see the truth in court."
At the home of Williams, there was no answer the week before the trial.
While one next-door neighbour's home showed an assortment of bikes and scooters, the other side revealed a well-tended garden.
Each of the neighbours who answered The Herald's door knock blanched at the mention of Williams and made it plain they were fearful about speaking on the matter.
One man shook his head worriedly at the mention of Williams and closed the door quickly saying: "No, no sorry mate, I just don't want to talk about him, I don't want to get involved."
Another neighbour, a woman, responded similarly at the mention of Williams, her smile dropping immediately as she whispered: "I don't want to get involved."
CAUGHT ON FILM BEFORE THE ATTACK
A CHILLING video captures Tanis Bhandari's killers just moments before they committed their violent murder.
The CCTV footage shows Ryan Williams and Donald Pemberton casually walking towards the green at Tamerton Foliot, where they brutally murdered Plymouth builder Tanis, 22.
The Herald has obtained the film after Pemberton, aged 21 and of Victoria Road, St Budeaux, was found guilty of Tanis' murder.
A jury also found him guilty on three counts of wounding with intent and one count of actual bodily harm.
Co-defendant Williams, 22, of Haydon Grove, St Budeaux, pleaded guilty to all five charges earlier in the trial.
CCTV SHOWED PEMBERTON WITH CLEAVERS IN STREET
COULD the murder of Tanis Bhandari have been avoided?
That question is now being asked after The Herald learned how Pemberton's arrest on December 16, 2014 could have seen him returned to prison for failing to comply with his licence.
Following his conviction for assaulting a man on Christmas Eve, 2013, Pemberton was handed a 12 month community order on January 12, 2014.
On June 13, he was arrested after he was found to be in possession of a machete in public.
As a result, on September 2, 2014, Pemberton was handed a four month jail sentence by district judge Kevin Gray at Plymouth Magistrates' Court.
He was released from prison after serving two months, but his arrest on December 16 – having been spotted the previous night on CCTV brandishing two meat cleavers in Anstis Street, Stonehouse – saw him interviewed by police.
It is believed he was not charged at the time and released on police bail pending further inquiries.
According to court reports seen by The Herald, Pemberton appeared at Plymouth Magistrates Court on January 16, 2015 – just over two weeks after the murder of Tanis Bhandari.
The case, brought by Devon and Cornwall Probation, related to the Anstis Street incident.
The court document states that Pemberton: "being a person under supervision, under section 65 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, failed to comply with a requirement specified in a notice from the Secretary of State in that failed to comply with a licence condition; to be well behaved, not commit any offence and not do anything which could undermine the purpose of your supervision, which is to protect the public, prevent you from reoffending and help you to resettle successfully into the community."
The matter was adjourned until January 23, 2015 "at request of the prosecution to consider if proceeding".
However, on January 23, the charged was "withdrawn". Court papers stated that the reason was "at the request of probation."
The Herald has learned that a Serious Further Offence review has been carried out by the Ministry of Justice to determine the decision-making around Pemberton by the probation service following his arrest on December 16.
However, a spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said the findings of reviews were not made public but that the families of victims were entitled to a summary of the review.
Sources have told The Herald the review has examined decisions made by probation officers at the time of his arrest in mid December.
It is understood options that may have been available was Pemberton could have been given a condition, such as an electronic tag, a curfew or returned to prison to complete his four-month sentence.
It is not known whether the Crown Prosecution Service considered approving a charge of affray on December 16 2014 following his arrest, which may have also resulted in him being brought to court.
POLICE WELCOME SENTENCE FOR SENSELESS KILLING
THE PLYMOUTH police officers who led the investigation into the 'senseless' Tanis Bhandari murder have welcomed the guilty verdict.
Donald Pemberton was yesterday found guilty by a jury of the murder and four other charges, while Ryan Williams pleaded guilty to all charges earlier in the trial.
Both men were involved in the attack on Mr Bhandari in the village of Tamerton Foliot on New Year's Day this year.
Detective Inspector Ian Ringrose from Devon and Cornwall Police's Major Crime Investigation Team said: "We welcome the guilty verdict which will see both Donald Pemberton and Ryan Williams serve life sentences for the murder of Tanis Bhandari.
"Both men have not only been convicted of Tanis' murder, but also for assaults on Jamie Healy, Sean Cordon, George Walker and Matthew Daw.
"This was a senseless, unprovoked and horrific attack on a group of friends celebrating the New Year. Tanis Bhandari lost his life at the age of 27 years and the attack has had a profound impact on the victims, their families, friends and the community."
Det Insp Ringrose added: "The Major Crime Investigation Team conducted a thorough investigation into the tragic events that night. However, the result would not have been possible without the actions of officers who attended the incident on the night and support of the community, in particular the very close community of Tamerton Foliot.
"I would like to thank everyone who assisted the investigation and who have supported police throughout.
"Tanis' family, the victims who survived, their family, friends and the community have acted with dignity throughout this ordeal.
"I hope that the outcome today will allow everyone who has been affected to gain some kind of closure and help recover from this traumatic crime."
PEMBERTON TRIED TO TAKE HIS OWN LIFE
THE MAN jointly found guilty of murdering Tanis Bhandari and injuring four others attempted to take his own life just a few weeks before the incident in Tamerton Foliot.
The teenager revealed how he and his father were alerted to a young man – now identified as Donald Pemberton – who attempted to harm himself near their home in Ernesettle at around 12.55am on December 2, 2014.
The father told The Herald how his son had heard shouts coming from a nearby wooded area and the pair of them went to investigate.
He said they spotted a young woman who told them "he's going to kill himself".
The father said his son was shocked to find a 20-year-old man hanging from a tree, a bag full of empty cans of lager nearby.
Despite the distressing scene, the father and son worked to help support the man and police arrived shortly after to take over.
Sources have told The Herald the man, now identified Pemberton, was described by the authorities as "vulnerable" and "suicidal" and had "tried to hang himself in the summer".
Other sources revealed the man had been under the influence of alcohol and drugs, had then been involved in an argument with a young woman and had run off prior to being found hanging from a tree.
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said officers carried out CPR at the scene until paramedics arrived. The man was later taken to Derriford Hospital for further treatment.
On more than one occasion the jury were informed of Pemberton's mental health problems.
In his written statement, offered to police during one of his first interviews, Pemberton revealed: "I do have mental health problems which affect the way I think and put my thoughts to others, particularly if I'm under stress."
The jury were later told about a police custody note which stated how Pemberton was in the care of Plymouth's mental health team.
The officer who made the note on the afternoon of New Year's Day, revealed how he had spoken to someone from the local mental health team who revealed how Pemberton was "part of the insight team".
Det Sgt David Miller, answering from the witness box confirmed that the custody record noted how Pemberton was "prescribed mental health medication".
However, the court was told by barristers that the 21-year-old's mental health problems "have no bearing on or relation to events on January 1 in Tamerton Foliot with which the jury are concerned".
Anyone affected by issues raised in this incident can call the Samaritans on 116123 or 01752 221666.
HOW FACEBOOK HELPED TO CATCH THE KILLERS
FACEBOOK advertises itself as a place for friends to connect, old friends to reconnect, even a place for new friends to be made.
Not everyone uses it this way.
For some, it's a spotlight to show others just how big, just how hard, just how dangerous they think they are.
Donald Pemberton was a particular fan of the social networking site.
Instead of happy family photos and pictures of holidays, Pemberton's timeline is littered with images of him, beer can clutched in one hand, a middle finger on display or an attempt at a gang-symbol.
Sometimes the pictures are of him with his arms around his friends' shoulders (see page 4), the can and the finger or two still on show.
On occasion, the can is replaced by a weapon. One image from his timeline even showed him waving a knife back and forth (see page 4) as he sits nonchalantly next to a friend.
One December 27 he changed his profile picture to one of him sitting side by side with Ryan Williams (see page 4). Pemberton was showing off his L O V E tattoo on his fingers – and his ACAB [All Coppers Are B****ards] on his knuckles – while Williams was giving the photographer the finger.
At 9.59pm four days later – on New Year's Eve – Pemberton changed his profile picture again. But this time it was just him with his blue T-shirt, his gold bracelet and a large meat cleaver grasped in his right hand.
Around 6.45pm on New Years Eve, a young Plymouth man called Dale Hewitt was made aware he was being threatened on the social networking site.
In response, his friends told him on his Facebook page to keep his "nose clean and just chill" while others urged him "Calm down Dale! You don't wanna end up in a cell tonight love".
Dale was angry and replied: "I'll kill any **** that says there going through my Mum's door so ******* bring it Don Pemberton". Minutes later he urged "all my haters write to me, ready and ******* waiting".
Pemberton was busy with his own Facebook, changing his profile picture at 10.58pm.
This latest picture showed him bare-chested, brandishing tattoos on his right arm and his conflicting LOVE and ACAB tattoos on his left hand.
In his right hand he brandishes one of his brother's "collectable" weapons – a huge machete.
By 11.33pm Dale asked his friends where Don lived adding "I'll hit him before he does me".
Just 11 minutes later, Pemberton began writing on Dale's Facebook page, stating "Yh I will ya mug I'm gonna get ya ya ******* fairy."
Dale responded, noting "look at da state ov ya joke puttin pics up wid blades to make urself look big grow da **** up n stop talking black u lil wnabe gangster."
In response at 11.50pm Pemberton wrote: "Haha well watch when I am in front of ya with barrel to your chest see how much of braveheart u are den init big boy"
A few minutes later, Dale's mother – whom Dale claimed Pemberton had threatened online – joined the discourse, calling him a "lil boy".
The mother told Pemberton she was at home, while telling Dale she could "handle lil mugs like that".
When asked his whereabouts by Dale, at 12.03am, Pemberton replied: "Tameton (sic) foliot u little waste n so **** ya mum she aint my mum so I don't give a **** let's have a meet."
Pemberton continued his tirade of abuse at both Dale and his mother for the next few minutes, even urging Dale to come to meet him, adding "U gonna grant me wish an come to me pleaaaaseeeee bruv I will pay for ya taxi".
When Dale claimed he knew where Pemberton's mother lived, saying he would see him soon, Pemberton replied at 12.12am: "Haha I hope u do bro I'm gonna stab ya liver in swear on her life and she got cancer, when I see ya I'm giving the best I got ya skid mark".
He quickly followed this with: "U can act hard but we'll see when I'm in front of ya thought u was coming to me? What's the matter did one ya boys tell ya you get battered if ya comae to me ya wet ****" before adding "**** off ya donut".
By now it was 12.17am, and somewhere in the Tamerton Foliot Pemberton was hitting the screen of his mobile phone.
He made the final change to his profile picture, putting up a mirror-shot of himself, wearing a Adidas top, his hood up and a mask across his lower face.
His hand was up by his face in a "gun" pose.
Moments later he was back on his phone responding to comments by Dale's mother, who derided the youth's threats.
At 12.26am he told her to "watch" while replied "mug".
Pemberton went on to ask why she was getting involved, which made her own son "look like a goon".
Another relative of Dale's joined in the barrage against Pemberton, saying he was going to head to his home. The friend wrote: I want to know where he lives coz the ******** fools is getting a visit has he had any ******** experience in hurting someone with a butter knife let alone a knife/cleaver/or any sort of blade, I want to know where he is TONIGHT ******* ****ed off with kids thinking they'll wave a blade around & get respect for it by many, well in my time that **** got people propa chopped up text where I can find this ******* mug".
Pemberton replied to Dale's friend at 12.35am, telling him to keep his nose out or he would get "battered".
At 12.55am Pemberton replied to more derision from Dale's mother with more insults.
His last Facebook response came on January 1 at 1.01am when he wrote "Yhyh".
The jury were told that during his aggressive exchanges with Mr Hewitt, Pemberton was also embroiled in another war of words with Kane Swabey.
Pemberton revealed that Mr Swabey had since deleted all his Facebook comments, leaving only Pemberton's responses.
In addition, Pemberton told the jury he was also in contact with Mr Swabey and Mr Hewitt via BBM (Blackberry Messenger) which could not be archived or tracked, causing these messages to effectively disappear.
He claimed Mr Swabey asked to meet him in Budshead Road, but added that his former friend was known to him to carry weapons.
Pemberton told the court: "He said he was on his way to my mums. He used to be my friend and knows where my mum lives."
In reply to Mr Swabey posts, asking where he was, Pemberton responded in turn in the run up to his departure from his brother's home in Tamerton Foliot on New Year's Day
His replies included: "I said Tamerton Foliot Kane you little ****head.
"Come here braveheart.
"Mate shuttup you grass.
"I know what you're about you scouse wannabe.
"Haha, I will be there in 25."
Less than half an hour later police were receiving calls from frightened revellers who had been threatened by Williams with a knife. Moments later the emergency services received a flurry of calls from Tanis's group, calling for paramedics to treat those injured by the attacks.
The ambulance service said three ambulances and two rapid response vehicles were requested at 1.39am.
This was not the first time Pemberton used Facebook to self-aggrandise his tough-guy credentials.
In January 2014 he appeared in court after he admitted attacking a man in Union Street on Christmas Eve.
Early on January 13, using a Blackberry phone, he noted "court ina min wish me luck x"
By the afternoon he announced he had "got 150 comunity (sic) service and 260 quid fine lol they was talking about custody sentances (sic) and that haha xx"
Answering questions he admitted "abh" – actual bodily harm.
Three days later he posted The Herald's report on his Facebook page, which was headlined "Teen too drunk to remember attack is spared a jail sentence".
The report noted how after the unprovoked assault where he punched a man, he became aggressive to two response officers. The report stated how one officer deployed his Taser and Pemberton 'tried to grab the Taser out of his hand and the officer suffered an injured thumb.'
However, in his Facebook post he claimed to his friends: "It said in the paper that the po po tried deploying a taser as I tried to grab it! It was already deployed and stuck my chest mate I got tazered twice haha."
In response, one of his female Facebook friends criticised Pemberton, telling him: "It's not something to be proud of don"
Predictably, Pemberton replied: "Shat ap [shut up], I'm well chuffed"
Undeterred, the girl continued her criticism: "What, cause you made the paper for something stupid?"
Charmless to a fault, Pemberton snapped back: "O shat up [shut up] you t**t".
By comparison Williams' Facebook page appears barren. His only entry for September was to post an image of a handgun, while on December 31 he posted: "loves my girl so much even tho i am the goat in the relationship....... horny as a muthaaa***** constantly !!"
before adding his girlfriend's name – Suzie Pemberton, sister of his co-defendant.
A MAN remains in custody this morning after being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following an alleged double stabbing in Plymstock in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Police were called to an address in Elburton Road, Plymstock, at 4.10am following reports of a stabbing.
A 28-year-old local man is alleged to have stabbed a 64-year-old man and 60-year-old woman inside the property.
The victims were taken to Derriford Hospital by ambulance.
The male victim suffered serious chest injuries and remains in hospital in a stable condition.
The woman suffered minor shoulder and hand injuries and has been discharged from hospital.
The suspect was arrested nearby on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody at Charles Cross police station.
Detective Inspector Craig McWhinnie said: "The suspect and victims are known to each other, and I would like to reassure residents that this is an isolated incident.
"We are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident."
AN elderly man who was robbed of £139 pension money as he waited for a bus after collecting it has been helped by neighbours - who have been bringing him food and groceries since the attack.
Phillip Hodge had just collected his pension and morning paper and was waiting for a bus on Devonport Road when he says the men struck.
The 89-year-old said that during the incident, which took place at 9am on November 30, one man reached into his pocket and grabbed his pension – worth about £139 – before running off with it.
Mr Hodge, who lives on his own in Stoke, said the incident left him shaken but that he refused to let it stop him from getting about as normal.
He said: "I felt helpless; you never expect it.
"I'm still out every day though – the only time it puts me off is if I'm waiting for a bus and someone comes alongside me because what happened automatically floods back into my mind."
In fact, the retired forklift driver saw his bad luck change just the day after the robbery when he stooped to tie his shoe lace while at the market and found a £20 note on the floor.
He was also left heartened by people in the community who began donating groceries to him after word of the robbery spread.
He said: "I had a bag full of stuff from the Co-op nearby and two from the post office where I get my pension."
His neighbour, 29-year-old Cheryl Holten, had even more good news for Mr Hodge after a woman named Charlene Freeman decided to set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money in his name.
Ms Freeman, aged 29, decided to set up the page after reading The Herald's report of the robbery on Facebook and corresponding with Ms Holten.
She ended up exceeding her target by raising £260 for Mr Hodge through online donations and the pair were later introduced by Ms Holten.
Ms Holten, who lives in the flat next to Mr Hodge, said: "He was absolutely over the moon.
"He was very upset after the robbery and I was surprised because he goes out every morning to buy his paper and the following morning he didn't let it stop him.
"His words were 'There's no point moping indoors, nothing is going to come of that'."
A number of witnesses came forward following the robbery and two men were later arrested in connection with the incident.
One was bailed until a later date, pending further inquiries, while Stevie Jordan, aged 33, of Albert Road, Plymouth, was charged with robbery.
A HORSE box used by an autistic girl to show her pony has been stolen by callous thieves.
Mckenzie, aged 15, is usually very shy but is "completely different" when she is on her horse Wotsit 2 You and is devastated by the theft.
Mckenzie has worked "very hard" with seven-year-old Wotsit and together they have grown into an "amazing team".
Mum Melita Pascoe said: "Her confidence when she goes out competing is amazing and something I wasn't sure she would be able to do but she has proved us all wrong with him.
"The first few years have been very challenging for both of them but she never gave up.
"Last year she took him to nearly every show she could in the trailer and next year she was hoping to go away to a horse camp with him.
"Everyone who knows Kenz knows how passionate she is with her horse and the theft of her trailer has been very upsetting especially just before Christmas, it will be a few years before we could afford to buy another trailer."
The Ifor Willians 511 black horse trailer was taken from the Cornwood area on Sunday, December 13 from the Cornwood area.
The box may have been taken by a dark-coloured Land Rover.
The horse box was data tagged, with a black tack box inside and chequered plating below the jockey door.
The box is unique as the horse unloads on the left instead of the right and has a broken lower jockey door.
The registration is WJ13 EKH.
If you have any information about this incident call police on 101 quoting crime reference number cr/085887
CRIMESTOPPERS has published Plymouth's latest 'most wanted' list:
Paul Elcombe
Elcombe was jailed in December 2014 at Plymouth Crown Court for a drunken burglary.
He was confronted by a mother in her own home and later, thanks to his canary yellow shirt, was collared by her two sons in the street.
He received a 15 month jail sentence for a string of offences including burglary, theft and breaching his bail.
The 22-year-old is wanted by police following an incident in Dryburgh Crescent, Plymouth on November 17 this year. Police say he is currently in breach of the terms of his release licence.
**************
Justin Paul Lee
Police say Lee is in breach of the terms of his release licence.
His last known location was The Rectory in Stoke on October 6 this year.
Police say they are "proactively following a number of lines of enquiry to ascertain his current location".
He is described as being aged between 30 and 35, around 5ft 8ins tall, of medium build with short brown hair.
*****************
Luke Michael Timmins
Timmins is wanted in connection with the breach of the terms of his prison release.
Luke Timmins, of Pollard Close, Hooe; was jailed in June 2014 for three years and four months after he admitted conspiracy to evade the prohibition of the importation of the Class B drug mephedrone between October 2012 and September 2013.
At his sentencing at Plymouth Crown Court his barrister said Timmins was unaware of the scale and seriousness of the role he was playing in the importation of what was formerly a legal drug.
The enterprise was organised by his father and the court heard how the 23-year-old son did not have any drugs convictions, but started offending when he lost the guidance of his jailed father as a teenager.
At the time his barrister said the young man was hoping to go to university upon his release.
Police say Timmins, now 24, is wanted for failing to comply with the conditions of his release.
He is described as being around 5ft 8ins tall and of medium build. He has short, straight, light brown hair.
*******************
Daniel Hilton Wood
Also known as David Johnson, Wood, is wanted in connection with the breach of the terms of his prison release, and was also involved in the drug smuggling conspiracy.
The 24-year-old failed to comply with the conditions of his release and being sought by police officers.
Wood is aged between 20-25, around 5ft 8ins tall and of medium build. He has short, straight, light brown hair.
A trader who offering to clean householders' carpets in Devon and Cornwall for rock-bottom prices before hiking his charges by up to 5,400 per cent, has been sentenced for seven offences.
Last month, just before a three day trial was scheduled to start, Mark Dudley of Humber Road, Ferndown, changed his pleas to guilty on four offences under the Fraud Act and three offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.
This week Mr Dudley has been sentenced to eight weeks imprisonment, suspended for two years, and also to do 180 hours Community Service.
He was also ordered to pay compensation to his victims totalling £885 and contribute £3,000 to prosecution costs.
All the offences related to either dishonestly failing to disclose consumers' rights to cancel or inviting them to purchase the services at one price before substituting a different, vastly higher price – a practice known as "Bait and Switch".
Mr Dudley variously traded as MD Cleaning Services Limited, Compact Cleaning Services and Dudley Cleaning Services from addresses in Dorset in 2014.
The court heard that he travelled around the country including Devon, Somerset, Cornwall and Gloucester operating a carpet cleaning business.
Consumers were telephoned out of the blue with an offer to clean their carpets at a very low price of £20. But when Dudley came to call the offered price was not available and instead far higher prices of up to £1,100 were charged.
In one case Mr Dudley charged an elderly lady who had dementia around £400, even though her carpets had been cleaned the previous day by another trader.
Consumers were not adequately told of their rights to a "cooling off" period during which they could cancel the contract.
The court also heard that the work was not professionally done, with items of furniture not moved, while Dudley worked around them.
The Court said that the case crossed the custody threshold as Mr Dudley had been given advice by Trading Standards on trading rules on more than one occasion, but instead of complying had abused his victims' trust.
Protecting vulnerable consumers and cracking down on scams is a high priority for Devon and Somerset Trading Standards Service.
Cllr Roger Croad, Devon County Councils Cabinet Member with responsibility for Trading Standards said:
"This trader was more concerned with extracting as much money as he could out of his victims than actually cleaning their carpets.
"I'm pleased that thanks to the consumers being prepared to give evidence, we've been able to bring him to justice."
A DRUNKEN factory worker who tried to strip a female student in the street at night will have to sign on the sex offender's register for 10 years and has had his fine replaced with a prison term after an Appeal Court ruling today.
Marcin Pawel Balazy, 22, grabbed his victim by the back of her trousers in a secluded alley near the Student Union bar on the Plymouth University campus on May 10 this year after following her from Sherwell Arcade.
The Appeal Court heard how he attempted to yank down her trousers after approaching her from behind.
Pulled to the ground, the female student was "petrified" that she would be raped. However, she kicked him off while screaming loudly.
Balazy, of Hill Park Crescent, Plymouth, was seen on the footage to nonchalantly return to the area of Sherwell Arcade afterwards.
He was later arrested and spent five months on remand in jail before pleading guilty to sexual assault at Plymouth Crown Court in October.
However, he was allowed to walk free, due to the time he had already spent in custody. He was handed a £500 fine, ordered to pay £600 compensation to his victim, prosecution costs of £375, the Criminal Court Charge of £900 and the victim surcharge of £50.
However, there was outcry in Plymouth after it was learned the judge in the case, Judge Ian Lawrie, did not order Balazy to sign onto the Sex Offender's Register, which would have allowed police to monitor him.
His sentence was also attacked as far too soft by the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC, who referred the case to the Court of Appeal to look at again.
Today Sir Brian Leveson, Mr Justice Openshaw and Mrs Justice Simler, ruled that Balazy's sentence was "unduly lenient".
They replaced the fine with a 10-month jail term.
Balazy has already served that term – but as a result of today's decision he will now have to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for a decade.
Sir Brian said: "Other young ladies in Plymouth may well be pleased that the police are monitoring somebody who, when drunk, would attack a young woman in this way."
The court heard that Balazy, a Polish national, was working in a factory making tyres in the Plymouth area and had a young baby with his partner.
He was said by his barrister to have been unused to drinking, and to have acted "out of character" on the evening of the sex attack.
Sir Brian said the picture painted of the attack was "disturbing".
However, the judge refused to send Balazy back to jail in light of his previous good character and other mitigation in his favour.
Plymouth Police are investigating two arsons at commercial premises in the city which caused extensive damage.
The first occurred between 10pm and 10.30pm on October 26 at a unit known as Woodworx2composite, within Plymouth Yacht Haven, Breakwater Road, in Plymouth.
The unit was an oak framed building which was completely destroyed during the fire.
It is believed a number of specialist woodworking tools were also stolen from the unit during the same incident.
On November 16 between 1am and 4am a similar arson occurred at a premise known as Carcheck in Broxton Drive, in Plymstock.
During the incident a silver Audi A4 estate vehicle was stolen from the unit and returned to the same unit before the fire commenced.
Although investigating officers are keeping an open mind there is potential that the two arson incidents are linked
A 45-year-old man from the Plymouth area has been arrested and has been released on bail until January 5 pending further enquiries.
Police are appealing for witnesses and in particular to anyone who saw a silver Audi being driven in suspicious circumstances during the early hours of Monday, November 16.
We would appeal for anyone who has any information regarding either incident to please contact Police on 101 quoting crime reference CR/079366/15 s or alternatively confidentially through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or report online at www.Crimestoppers-uk.org
Plymouth's police have dealt with nine reports of revenge porn in 2015 - where victims have alleged naked or sexual images of them have been circulated online by an ex.
Devon and Cornwall Police have handled nine reported offences between May 2015 and November 2015 - with victims aged from 19 to 44.
Only one incident has resulted in 'formal' action, with a caution issued to someone who shared images of a 19-year-old on Facebook.
In May 2015 a 25-year-old reported an instance to police but asked for no further action to be taken.
In the same month a 37-year-old said images had been shared on a website but police said there were 'evidential difficulties'.
And also in May a 24 year old said images had been shared on a website but police said after investigating 'as far as reasonably possible' they could not identify a suspect.
There were two incidents in June, one resulting in a caution and one involving images of a 31-year-old shared on Twitter where there were 'evidential difficulties'.
In September police investigated a complaint from a 44 year old over images on Twitter and decided the picture was not pornographic.
Three cases are under investigation from September, October and November involving two 20 year olds and a 56 year old, with images shared on a website and via Facebook.
POLICE are hoping schoolchildren who filmed an attack on one of their classmates by three teens will send their footage to investigators.
Staff had to intervene and stop the three female intruders at Notre Dame School, Derriford at lunchtime on December 2, after they entered the grounds and began to batter a year 11 pupil.
Staff at the secondary school said the victim was left "bruised and shocked".
As a result of the attack the school said it was going to instigate a policy of locking all doors and gates and said it would install new security gates as soon as possible.
Police say the 15-year-old victim was attacked outside the basketball courts before staff were able to force the intruders off the school grounds.
In a letter to parents the school said the attack had spilled over "from external incidents on a neighbourhood estate to which police were called"
The school said its own CCTV footage was being released to police and now detectives say they want to hear from any student who may have filmed the incident.
A police spokesman said: "We have learned a number of students filmed the incident on their mobile phones and we very much want that footage.
"We can seized phones and it is currently taking three or more weeks to secure the electronic data we require, but we understand few people – especially teenagers – would want to have their phones held for that length of time.
"We hope students will appreciate the importance of this investigation and recognise that we need their assistance.
"We are appealing for students to e-mail their footage to the investigating officer. Their e-mails will be treated confidentially."
If you can assist police email the investigators on 10602@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk quoting crime reference number CR/083331/15.
A gang of French fishermen have been jailed for five years for smuggling 130 Albanians into the UK via beaches near Plymouth.
A trial in Rennes, in Brittany, heard how the fishermen from Paimpol, preyed on 'human misery' and 'desperation'.
French prosecutor Anne Fourmel said Britain was seen as the 'Eldorado' for hundreds of desperate illegal immigrants and these fishermen were attracted by 'easy missions and easy money'.
Mrs Fournel said: "This was the trial of the exploitation of human misery as desperate people are prepared to pay colossal sums of money to leave their country to find their Eldorado in Great Britain."
The procureure de la République (French procurator) asked that all fishermen involved in the clandestine human smuggling operations each pay a £360 fine per illegal immigrant ferried across the Channel.
Mrs Fournel asked that Albanian national Edmond Rapi, the mastermind behind the human trafficking ring, serve seven years in prison and pay a £110,000 fine.
However as Mr Rapi was judged in absentia, an international warrant has now been issued for his arrest. Each of the five ringleaders, including a businessman from Brittany were all sentenced to five years in prison.
Between January 2002 and January 2003 the fishermen carried out 16 trips in sail boats and motor boats between ports in Brittany and Normandy and dropped off their passengers in coves and on beaches along the coastline between Weymouth, Plymouth and South East Cornwall.
Most of the defendants are from the Breton port of Paimpol and skippered their own boats, the prosecutor said.
She told the court that the fishermen, mainly in their 20s, all knew each other, and had been 'attracted by easy missions and easy money'.
The sailors were paid £700 for each passenger but gangsters charged the illegal immigrants up to £7,000 each.
The fishermen were arrested in June last year after months of surveillance carried out by undercover French detectives.
Martin Menear, a former Border Force union representative and current secretary for the Labour party in South East Cornwall, said: "It's incredibly easy to get into the UK.
"Cornwall has 300 miles of coastline but no UK border staff. None. Smuggling has been going on in Cornwall and Devon for centuries but now it's cocaine or illegal immigrants."
Mr Menear said the UK Border Force is now tasked with focusing on scanning passports quickly at British airports to reduce queues but is not preventing illegal immigration and human trafficking.
He added: "While anyone can land into Falmouth with a yacht full of any number of people who can then disappear into we have a border force who has to keep airport queues to a minimum.
"It seems that no-one is looking at the problem so they can't see it."
Mr Menear said the UK Border Force has been slashed by the Conservative and Coalition government since 2010 which is why Britain's borders have become so porous.
Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, said it was ironic that while the UK Border Force has all this high tech equipment, smuggling into Britain continues.
He said: "Our borders are far too porous for my liking and the liking of most people in this country. We have to invest more in our border force so it becomes a more coordinated border force with a land, sea and air element.
"It would be expensive but we face unprecedented time with hundreds of thousands of people being displaced and looking for a better life.
"We don't have enough room to accommodate them all. If we don't want them here we need a border force which can patrol our borders better."
The call for a better border force comes as a gang of 13 French fishermen who ferried more than 130 Albanians to the Westcountry, landing them on remote beaches along the coast over three years, have been sentenced to up to five years in jail.
Unlike the main ferry links at Calais, Dunkirk and Cherbourg, where strict controls are constantly in force, the small Breton fishing ports were easy prey for people smugglers.
Lucy Moreton, general secretary of the Immigration Services Union, which represents UK Border Force staff said Britain's entire coastline was patrol by only two cutters with two others being deployed in the Mediterranean to help with the refugees crisis.
She said: "It's not so much a question of overwhelming our defences, more that we don't have any in the first place.
"We only have two cutters patrolling the Channel and that's a lot of sea."
The people-trafficking trial is just one of several opening at the court in Rennes this month.
Another two French skippers who were stopped while heading to the UK in a luxury yacht with 15 Albanians on board also appeared to face human trafficking charges.
French border police have together been cracking down on the illicit cross-Channel trade which has boomed as a result of tougher security measures around the Calais ferry terminal and Eurostar train tunnel.
The numbers of immigrants living in squalid camps in and around Calais has risen to almost 7,000 in recent months.
French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve recently revealed that police had broken nearly 200 people smuggling networks around the country, arresting up to 3,000 individuals along the way.
A MAN has admitted starting a fire in a home.
Thomas Britton, aged 40, pleaded guilty at Plymouth Crown Court to arson on September 12.
He set fire to a bed, mattress and carpet worth £140 in rented accommodation.
Britton, of Rochester Road, Mutley, denied the more serious alternative charge of arson reckless as to whether the lives of fellow tenants were put at risk.
Julia Cox, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said that plea was acceptable and no trial would be needed.
Jason Beal, for Britton, said: "He made an initial call to the fire service and left the property. It was a case of soot and the like rather than fire damage."
The court heard that the arson followed a row with his partner.
Judge Paul Darlow adjourned sentence January 29 and released the defendant on conditional bail.
He banned Britton from meeting his partner in enclosed private premises.
TRIBUTES have been paid to a former Face of Plymouth contestant found dead in a flat by police.
The body of the 33-year-old, named by friends and neighbours as Natalie Gentle, was discovered at a home in Manston Close, Ernesettle, after police broke down the door at about 9pm on Monday.
Officers remained at the scene this morning, and say the death is not being treated as suspicious.
Those who knew Natalie have taken to The Herald's Facebook site to pay tribute.
Nikki Bradbury said: "RIP nat such a lovely natured girl , gone too soon but will never be forgotton , sleep tight sweet."
Shanice Small said: "R.I.P natalie gone but never forgotten"
Ms Gentle, who entered the Face of Plymouth contest in 2007, appeared in court on several occasions over the last few years in connection with Anti Social Behaviour Orders and drugs offences.
In November last year she was evicted from her flat after neighbouring families complained about noise and disruption, but was allowed to return when the charges were formally withdrawn in January this year.
Yesterday neighbours spoke to The Herald about her death.
One resident sad: "She was a lovely girl, it's so sad. I blame the police and the council for her death, it's them who should be getting done.
"She tried to get help but they wouldn't help her. She had been attacked so many times.
"Everybody has got a background."
Another neighbour said: "I was a bit shocked. She has not lived here long. I only knew her as Natalie, I didn't know her that well", while another added: "We have had a lot of trouble with her in the past but nobody deserves that."
Another neighbour said: "It's not a surprise. It was more a case of when this was going to happen than if.
"She was a lovely woman, she just took the wrong path in life."
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Police attended an address at Manston Close, Ernesettle, Plymouth following concerns for the welfare of a resident.
"Just after 9pm police forced the door and found the body of a female in her 30s.
"Police are not currently treating this as suspicious."
A PRISONER accused of murdering a fellow inmate at HMP Dartmoor has appeared before a judge for the first time.
William Tolcher, aged 50, allegedly stabbed 37-year-old Alexander Cusworth to death in the prison kitchens on November 26.
He appeared at Bristol Crown Court via a videolink from Exeter Prison for a preliminary hearing.
Tolcher has not yet indicated any plea and no date has been set for any trial.
Judge Neil Ford remanded him in custody to appear at a plea and case management hearing in Plymouth on a date to be fixed in March.
Cusworth, from Teignmouth, was pronounced dead at Derriford Hospital hours after the stabbing.
Cusworth was jailed for eight years in May for attacking his landlord with a broomstick.
The victim spent eight days in a coma.
RESIDENTS around a school in Buckland Monachorum are being urged to keep an eye out for vandals this Christmas.
The school has been beset with damage in recent weeks, say police and on the night of November 26 the school's aluminium store was kicked and damaged.
Fortunately the padlock held and no entry was gained, but the door was badly damaged.
A spokesman for Tavistock police said: "Experience indicates that the offender is likely to be local and to hang around the school grounds. In the event that you see anyone acting suspiciously please don't be afraid to call police."
If you can assist police with the vandalism contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 quoting crime reference number CR/82738/15.
A WOMAN drove under the influence of drugs twice within four days – until she crashed into a central reservation.
Meredith Turnbull, aged 35, drifted and swerved across busy roads with cannabis and Valium in her system.
She waited until police returned her car after the first incident before getting back behind the wheel, Plymouth magistrates heard.
But Turnbull then crashed into a central reservation and her parents are now to sell the Skoda Fabia.
Magistrates have banned her from driving for three years and handed her a fine and court costs adding up to almost £500.
Turnbull, of Belgrave Road, Mutley, pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of drugs in Courtenay Street in the city centre on November 12.
He also admitted a similar offence in Plymouth Road, near Embankment Road, four days later.
Turnbull pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and possession of a trace of cannabis on that day.
Caroline Gates, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said the defendant was a client at Hamoaze House, a centre dealing with those with drug problems.
She added a member of staff noticed she was swaying from side to side and took her car keys so she could not drive home.
Mrs Gates said Turnbull returned later and took the keys.
She added that the Skoda was seen swerving through roadworks and mounting kerbs and traffic islands in Stoke.
The court heard that Turnbull was arrested and released on bail pending analysis of her blood.
Mrs Gates said she waited to recover her car from a police depot in Ivybridge – but was spotted driving badly on the A38 on the way home.
She added the Skoda was seen in Plymouth Road drifting from lane to lane until it crashed into the central reservation.
Mrs Gates said samples taken on both occasions showed she had cannabis and Valium in her system.
Roger Page, for Turnbull, said she suffered from bipolar disorder and took drugs to combat her mood swings.
He added that her parents were going to sell the car.
Magistrates banned her from driving for three years, fined her £230, ordered that she pay £150 criminal courts charge, £85 costs and £20 victim surcharge.
POLICE want to trace these three men who are wanted for recall to prison and failing to appear at court.
Detectives are appealing for help to find Christopher Shakespeare, aged 27, 31-year-old Wayne Jennings and 29-year-old Danny Venning.
Shakespeare (left in picture) has failed to comply with the conditions of his license and is wanted for a recall to prison.
He is described as approximately 5ft 9in tall, of slim build with short brown hair.
Jennings (centre) has also failed to comply with the conditions of his license and is wanted for a recall to prison.
He is described as 5ft 10in tall, of medium build with short light brown hair.
Venning (right) is wanted for failing to appear at Plymouth Magistrates court on Tuesday(22).
He is described as 5ft 7in tall, of medium build with short light brown hair.
He has a large tattoo on the right hand side of his neck and part of his right ear is missing.
The trio all have connections to Plymouth, but police say they could be anywhere in Devon and Cornwall.
If you have seen or know the whereabouts of any of these three men, are asked to contact police on 101.
A MAN has appeared in court accused of repeatedly punching his partner and putting his hands around her throat at a caravan park.
Mark Andrews, aged 43, is accused of breaking the woman's wrist and she also suffered a suspected fractured nose during two incidents on the same day.
Andrews pleaded not guilty to maliciously wounding his partner at a caravan park at Crapstone near Yelverton on Sunday December 20.
He also denied assaulting her causing actual bodily harm during a separate attack that day.
Andrews, of Station Road in Horrabridge near Tavistock, is finally charged with causing criminal damage to her caravan window. He did not enter any plea to that allegation.
Caroline Gates, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Andrews repeatedly punched the woman to the face after she visited his caravan.
She said he pushed her from the caravan down some steps and she fractured her wrist.
Mrs Gates added Andrews then repeatedly punched her and put his hands around her throat in her own caravan.
The court heard that she also had a suspected broken nose.
Magistrates ruled that the case should be heard at Plymouth Crown Court.
Andrews was released on conditional bail to appear before a judge on January 25.
He must live with his brother in Tavistock, stay away from Crapstone and not contact the alleged victim.
POLICE will be out and about in all corners of Plymouth in the New Year as part of a crackdown on speeding and drunk drivers.
The Devon and Cornwall Safety Camera Partnership currently has more than a dozen potential locations listed for its mobile cameras.
They include:
- Outland Road
- Tavistock Road
- Plymouth Road
- Peverell Park Road
- St Budeaux Bypass
- St Levan Road
- Penmros Road
- Molesworth Road
- North Prospect Road
- Lipson Road
- Honicknowle Lane
- Eggbuckland Road
- Tamerton Foliot Road
- Looseleigh Lane
- Southway Drive
- Plymbridge Road
- Novorossiysk Road
- Church Hill
Tanis Bhandari
Pemberton and Williams
Tamerton Foliot
