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Three unrelated sentencings reported: Windsor robbery, Arizona pastor's murder, Merseyside drugs conspiracy

Reporting from three outlets records separate cases involving four defendants, with sentences ranging from 12 months to life without parole.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 15, 2026, 8:39 a.m. ET
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This case is not concluded. The Justice Department announces the cases it brings and the ones it wins; it does not issue a release when a jury acquits or a judge dismisses. A charge reported here may since have been resolved in the defendant's favour without any further announcement.

More on this incident

Massinissa Tellia, 31, of Church Street, Chalvey, has been at Reading Crown Court to seven years and nine months in prison, and Ayman Zanati to 12 months imprisonment, the Slough Observer reported. Police say the two men took a Patek Phillipe watch from a man's wrist as he walked through Windsor with his family on July 6, 2025, according to the outlet. Tellia was also tried for a second count of robbery, investigated by the Metropolitan Police. An investigating officer said Tellia had targeted victims in two separate robberies, using force and intimidation to steal high-value property, the Slough Observer reported. The case was investigated by Thames Valley Police and the Metropolitan Police. Separately, kyma.com reported that Adam Sheafe, 52, was to life in prison without eligibility for parole. According to the outlet, Sheafe pleaded guilty to the April 2025 murder of Pastor Bill Schonemann, 76, admitted killing him inside his home, and shared original plans to kill 13 other Christian leaders around the country. In a third case, the Chester Standard reported that Bradley Thompson, 40, of Martingale Close, Aintree, was to on drug charges. Prosecutors say Thompson, using the Encrochat handle 'Mindwaiter', brokered the sale and supply of 135kg of heroin, 6kg of cocaine and 10kg of cannabis between March and June 2020, communicating with more than 50 other Encrochat users, conspired in the adulteration and production of class A drugs, used drug users to 'test' heroin for quality and referred to them as 'pigs', and used 'stash' vehicles to transport drugs and cash across the UK, the outlet reported. The investigation was carried out by Merseyside Police's Operation Aquarium team. The charges recorded across the three sets of reporting are two counts of robbery, first-degree premeditated murder, trespassing, burglary, conspiring to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis, being concerned in the supply of cannabis, conspiring to produce heroin, and two counts of attempting to acquire, use or possess criminal property (cash and watches/cars). None of the reports links the three cases to one another, and none cited a maximum sentence for the offences.

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Revision history

  1. Version 315 Aug 2026, 12:39current

    Added the Chester Standard's reporting on Bradley Thompson's 14-year drugs sentence, the Merseyside Police investigation and the additional drug and criminal-property charges.

  2. Version 215 Aug 2026, 05:59

    Replaced the internal-process phrase "The fact set does not establish any connection between the two proceedings" with reader-facing attribution to the published reports ("Neither report links the Windsor case to the Arizona case"), and rephrased the maximum-sentence note to attribute it to the reports rather than the source compilation. All figures, names, dates, charges and duelling sentence and conduct accounts remain as given, each attributed to the outlet that reported it.

  3. Version 114 Aug 2026, 10:33current

    First published.

  4. Version 114 Aug 2026, 10:23current

    First published.

  5. Version 114 Aug 2026, 10:36current

    First published.

  6. Version 114 Aug 2026, 10:26

    First published.

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