- .Courtney Randles lived in luxury while Christopher Kenny, 26, dealt drugs
- .She posted selfies from transatlantic flights and enjoyed lavish holidays
- .26-year-old even asked Lottery winner if they would help her launder cash
- .Randles, from Liverpool, jailed for three years while Kenny serves life term
The girlfriend of a murdering drug dealer who enjoyed first class travel, expensive holidays and lavish shopping trips to New York using her boyfriend's laundered money has been jailed.
Courtney Randles, 26, lived a champagne lifestyle in a luxury apartment in Liverpool while her boyfriend Christopher Kenny - now a convicted murderer - worked as a major drug dealer across the UK.
Despite earning an £18,000 salary, council worker Randles posted selfies from transatlantic flights and bragged about her shopping sprees online, posting photos of bursting Juicy Couture bags.
Courtney Randles, the 26-year-old girlfriend of a murdering drug dealer, enjoyed first class flights, expensive holidays and lavish shopping trips using her boyfriend's laundered money
Despite earning an £18,000 salary, Randles bragged about her shopping sprees online, posting photos of bursting Juicy Couture bags (right). Police also found £62,000 in cash (left) at the couple's flat
When police raided the couple's flat, they also found £62,000 stashed behind a bathroom mirror.
Randles has now been jailed for three years and four months after pleading guilty to money laundering and disclosing personal data without consent.
The court heard she was aware of her boyfriend's trade and tried to flee the country with him, while carrying £7,000 in her handbag. She even contacted a Euromillions winner to see if she would help launder money on the couple's behalf so Kenny could buy a Mercedes-Benz, the court was told.
Passing sentence, Judge Clement Goldstone QC said Randles was 'steeped' in her boyfriend's 'criminality'.
He said: 'You were quite willing to continue your association with a man who was not simply to your knowledge a successful drug dealer but a murderer.
'I do not consider for one moment that you were coerced, intimidated or exploited – you were greedy.'
Liverpool Crown Court heard how Kenny, 26, was given a life sentence earlier this year for stabbing Anthony Duffy to death in Aintree, Liverpool.
He conspired to murder the 33-year-old drug dealer with 26-year-old Shaun Walmsley after they discovered Duffy was plotting to raid their £60,000 cannabis farm.
Prosecuting Randles' case, Henry Riding said the defendant 'could never have believed in a month of Sundays' that Kenny's income was from his job as a secondhand car salesman.
'She knew they were major drug dealers, working as far afield as Dover and Aberdeen,' he told the court. 'Kenny was proud of the fact he was such a major drug dealer.
'When police searched their apartment, accounts and tick lists showed a running balance of approximately £475,000 on a day-to-day basis. Some £61,970 in cash was hidden in a cavity behind a mirror in their bathroom.'
Passing sentence, Judge Clement Goldstone QC said Randles (pictured left and right, leaving Liverpool Crown Court at an earlier hearing) was 'steeped' in her boyfriend's 'criminality'
The court heard how, following the murder, Kenny was arrested at Manchester Airport alongside Walmsley. The pair were using Randles' laptop to book a flight so they could flee the country.
Police then swooped at Randles' work, where she was attempting to arrange 'emergency leave' in what the court heard was 'an attempt by her to join them abroad'.
At the time, she had nearly £7,000 in her handbag as well as a 'to-do' list which included 'money in back for flights' and 'get mirror'.
The court heard how text messages showed Randles had attempted to launder hundreds of thousands of pounds for Kenny in 2013. In August she sent a text to a £2m Euromillions winner asking if she could help launder up to £20,000.
She asked the lottery winner if they could give her £15,000 in cash, so she could transfer the money back to him in order for him to buy the flash new car.
Randles also messaged a bank clerk, asking how much cash could be deposited without raising suspicion. She also secretly looked at council tax records of a man called Brian Thomas, who was minding Kenny and Walmsley's cannabis farm.
The defendant, wearing blue jeans and a black and white cardigan, cried as she entered court.
The council worker (pictured left) even contacted a Euromillions winner, asking if they would launder money on their behalf so Christopher Kenny, 26, (right) could buy a new Mercedez-Benz
She initially claimed she did not know where Kenny's money was from, but later admitted she knew it was drug money.
Mark Ford, defending, said Kenny was a 'manipulative and controlling individual' whose 'malign influence' ruined Randles' life.
He said that, when she at met Kenny at age 23, she was of good character, had a degree and a decent job. But when she realised he was drug dealer, she had already fallen in love with him.
'She was living a perfectly ordinary life for a happy-go-lucky girl in Liverpool,' he said. ''Now she has lost her good character, spent four months in Styal prison and is on the verge of losing her liberty.'
He added: 'He used the emotional ties between them in order to exploit her. She had a modest income and the lifestyle he offered must have appeared seductive.
I do not consider for one moment that you were coerced, intimidated or exploited – you were greedy
Judge Goldstone
'Had she never met Kenny she would never have appeared before these courts, so his role in her demise is a very significant one.'
He added that Randles was suffering from depression, had lost two stones in weight and was undergoing counselling.
However, Judge Goldstone rejected the argument Randles was 'exploited' by Kenny.
Judge Goldstone said: 'You were trusted by him and you were steeped in his criminality – not least because you were quite happy to benefit from his ill-gotten gains and enjoyed the lifestyle.
'Although I accept that you that you became involved at his request, you are a well-educated young woman and I am quite satisfied that you went into this with your eyes wide open.'
He said it was significant that Randles continued 'trying to line their nest' after the killing.
Kenny and Walmsley, plus their informant John Hore, 54, all of Walton, Liverpool; and weapon supplier Kirk Mello, 31, of Kirkby, were found guilty of murder after an eight-week trial.
Kenny and Walmsley were jailed for life with a minimum of 30 years, Hore to life with a minimum of 21 years and Mello to life with a minimum of 22 years.
The court heard how text messages showed Randles had attempted to launder hundreds of thousands of pounds for Kenny in 2013. Pictured: The bundle of cash found at the flat
Randles also admitted disclosing personal data without consent and possession of the Class C designer drug TFMPP.
Detective Inspector Graeme Robson said: 'In a bid to hide ill-gotten gains from the authorities Courtney Randles invested the proceeds from her partner's dealings in drugs through an array of different means.
'By spreading his ill-gotten wealth she probably hoped to avoid detection. But an extensive, lengthy and thorough investigation in to her complex financial affairs was carried out by detectives from the Matrix Serious and Organised Crime team, alongside Liverpool CID and financial investigators from the Financial Investigation Unit.
'It is credit to the team and their determination that she has been sentenced and once again it proves that crime doesn't pay.'
No comments:
Post a Comment