Analysis of the mobile phone showed Cregan, of Argyll Close, Failsworth, was on Oldham Road during the riot.
GMP said they found his phone taped under a kitchen cabinet at his home after he left it on vibrate, saying “all it took was one phone call to unravel his lies”.
So far 20 people have been sentenced for disorder at Newton Heath, it added.
Another man, Colin Brown, 37, was jailed for two years and four months for his role in a riot in Piccadilly Gardens in the city on 3 August.
