Gang who sold fake designer goods escape jail

11:20pm Friday 27th July 2007

A GROUP of men whose dodgy designer goods scam was busted when police staked out a home have all escaped jail.

Trevor Parkin, 47, Stuart Davie, 46, Edwin Yates, 38, Ashley Wright, 37, and Stuart Kernin, 35, pleaded guilty to unauthorised use of a trademark.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that the man were involved in selling huge quantities of fake Adidas, Reebok, Lacoste, Dior, and Ellesse gear.

Prosecutor Amanda Rippon said police surveillance of the men's homes and telephones had shown the five to be in regular contact with each other to arrange meetings, deliveries and pickups of the counterfeit goods.

Mrs Rippon told the court police began to investigate Parkin in September 2005 and kept him under surveillance until February 2006 by which time they had gained evidence of a conspiracy involving the other men.

The police surveillance came to a head on February 2 2006 when police followed Parkin as he moved counterfeit goods from Guisborough, east Cleveland, to Sunderland stopping at several addresses.

Parkin was pulled over by a marked police car in Grange Road, Sunderland and arrested.

The others were arrested but at first all denied any wrongdoing. However after the case came to trial earlier this month the man changed their pleas to guilty.

At the original trial on July 2 Mrs Rippon played to the court a police video filmed of Parkin's lavishly furnished home, at North View, Sunderland, and asked: "What sort of man lives in a house like this?"

She said: "Look at the many cars on the drive, including the new Range Rover with its personalised number plate, at the many bedrooms, the dining table suite, the several flat screen plasma television sets.

"They were all distributing, buying and selling clothing which had designer labels on but which were not in fact designer clothes.

"Police seized a huge quantity of property labelled with designers names, trademarks and logos which was identified as counterfeit."

Davie was found with counterfeit goods to the value of £30,000 while Yates and Kernin had goods to the value of between £4,000 and £5,000.

Parkin had goods to the value of £3,000 but the value of Wright's goods was unknown.

Parkin, of North View, Sunderland, was given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and a 12 month supervision and community order.

He was also served with an order to pay £175,000 after the court heard that £148,976 was found in two bank accounts and £2,977 in cash was found at his home.

Sentencing Parkin, Judge Guy Whitburn said: "These sort of offences are not victimless.

"It is something that is not a good idea to do.

"It is not a casual set up, factories produce these goods and people like you sell them.

"The trademarks are damaged because the goods are of inferior quality.

"You are a marked man - you know that and I know that. If I see you again you are going inside."

Wright, of Minorca Close, Sunderland, was given a supervision and community order for six months and ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.

Davie, of Woodhouse Road, Guisbrough, Yates, of Redmond Road, Redhouse, Sunderland and Kernin, of Allendale, Crescent, Penshaw, were all given conditional discharges for two years.

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