The biggest cases appearing before Swindon’s courts this month

As the country emerges from the Covid pandemic, case backlogs are hitting record levels, and that is being felt in Swindon too.

Across England more than 57,000 Crown Court cases were outstanding between July and September 2021 - a rise of 17% on the same period the previous year.

And last week, there were some major Swindon cases before the court, including people charged with murder, robbery and causing death by careless driving.

Here, we look at some of the biggest cases involving Swindon residents set to be heard in March.

Quadruple murder suspect to enter plea

The country was shocked last year when four people were found dead at a house in Killamarsh, Derbyshire.

Since the discoveries in September, a former Swindon man has been charged. Damien Bendall faces four counts of murder, and one count of rape.

Bendall, now of Chandos Crescent in Killamarsh, is alleged to have raped and murdered 11-year-old Lacey Bennett, as well as being accused of unlawfully killing her brother John Paul Bennett, 13, their mother Terri Harris, 35, and Lacey’s friend Connie Gent, 11.

The 31-year-old had been due to enter pleas to the charges last month, but that was delayed.

He is now due before Derby Crown Court on Wednesday (March 9). If he pleads not guilty, a trial is pencilled in at the same court on March 21.

Dockle disorder suspects back in court

Over the last few months, seven people have appeared before Swindon’s courts charged with violent disorder after a brawl at a Wetherspoons pub.

Scores of police officers were called to the Dockle Farmhouse on July 17, 2020 to reports of a large disorder, said to involve around 20 people. At least one person suffered injuries, with an 18-year-old man taken to Great Western Hospital.

Since then, five people have admitted violent disorder – Luke Russell Scott-Browne, Harry Matthew Salter, Joe Alexander Cole, Daiziel Hylton and James Joseph Quick.

Next Friday (March 18), two others are due before the court. Nathan Holmes, of Truman Close, Eldene, is due to be arraigned after his legal aid application was delayed.

Meanwhile, Gareth Michael Timothy Sutherland pleaded not guilty, and whilst the 19-year-old is not required to attend next Friday, the case will be mentioned for a review.

Read the latest on the incident here.

Police staff member to be sentenced for misconduct

A suspended Wiltshire Police employee will be sentenced this month having admitted misconduct in a public office.

Rachel Beale used her position as offender manager in the force’s Management of Sexual or Violent Offender (MOSOVO) Unit to start an intimate relationship with Marc Few, and then made hotel bookings during the coronavirus lockdown to see him.

The court heard that she prioritised her relationship with Mr Few above adherence to Covid-19 regulations in place between February and September 2020, and also treated him in a manner more favourable than others she was responsible for.

The 53-year-old will now face gross misconduct proceedings at the force, but a more immediate concern will be the sentencing hearing.

She will appear before the dock at Bristol Crown Court on March 30.

Woman to face trial accused of breaching Covid regulations

A Swindon woman will face a trial later this month accused of breaching Covid regulations.

Yvette Maxwell-Darkes is charged with participating in a gathering at Newbury Drive on February 13, 2021, when the country was in lockdown.

The 62-year-old, of Lambert Close in Freshbrook, pleaded not guilty to the charge of participating in a gathering of more than two people in a public outdoor place in a tier 4 area on October 11 last year.

She will now face a trial by magistrates in Salisbury on March 28.