Here we take a look at some of the criminals locked up during the final four months of 2021.
All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
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It has been another busy year for judges, juries and magistrates across Sussex. Here we take a look at some of the criminals locked up during the final four months of 2021. All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
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At Lewes Crown Court on Thursday October 28, Lewis Ashdown was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 27 years for the murder of 18-year-old Marc Williams in the early hours of Sunday 30 May, 2021.
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Sona Mertova admitted ill-treatment of the victim with Down Syndrome at a care home in Worthing in June this year. A concerned neighbour had filmed the incident where the 47-year-old dragged and shouted abuse at the victim in the garden of the care home. The judge imposed a six-month prison sentence on Mertova, of Western Place, Heene, Worthing.
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Samuel Markwick, 31, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving when he appeared at court for a plea hearing on September 2, 2021. The charge related to an incident on the A259 Worms Lane, Middleton-on-Sea, around 12.30pm on Monday 23 December, 2019. Markwick, of Valley Drive, Brighton, was later charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of a collision. He admitted both offences and on Friday (October 15) was sentenced to two-and-a-half years' imprisonment. He was also disqualified from driving for four years.
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Luke Banner, 30, of Spencer Road, Emsworth, Hampshire was arrested and charged with four counts of burglary with intent to steal. He pleaded guilty to all four offences in court on 20 August and was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing at Lewes Crown Court on Friday 1 October. He was sentenced to a total of three years’ imprisonment. The seriousness of his crimes and previous offending history was taken into consideration.
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Milad Rouf, 25, was arrested and charged, and admitted causing a dangerous / noxious thing to be taken / received with intent to burn / maim / disfigure / disabled / do grievous bodily harm when he appeared in court on Monday, August 16. At Lewes Crown Court on Thursday October 7, Rouf of Newport Road, Roath, Cardiff, was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment and four years on an extended licence as a dangerous offender.
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Darren Rogers has been given a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Rogers, 45, a scaffolder, of Plough Road, Eastchurch, Kent, was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on 29 September, having been convicted in July of making threats to kill, and possession of a knife.
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William Brazil, 44, of Ceylon Place, Eastbourne, was charged with burglary, two counts of theft of a motor vehicle, six counts of fraud by false representation and two counts of using a motor vehicle without insurance while Amos Smith, 36, unemployed, of Ersham Road Hailsham, was charged with burglary, two counts of theft of a motor vehicle, and five counts of fraud by false representation. Both pleaded guilty in court and they were jailed for 32 months and 12 months respectively.
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Frederick Thomas Lake, 28, of Withyham Road, Cooden, Bexhill, was given a seven-year prison sentence at Lewes Crown Court, having been convicted in August of the rape of a 34-year-old woman at an address in Hastings 2018. He will be a registered sex offender indefinitely, and was also given a Restraining Order for life, prohibiting him from any contact with his victim.
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Kemar Maybury, 40, of Dartmouth Crescent in Brighton, was jailed for four years for using children to supply drugs around the city. He He was sought by officers after the mother of a 13-year-old girl, who was found to be a passenger in Maybury’s car, raised concerns about her welfare. A search of the vehicle discovered cannabis and a further search of Maybury’s home address found cannabis plants. An investigation by detectives found Maybury had specifically targeted schools and universities to find young people to exploit, supplying them with drugs and in turn using them to distribute drugs on his behalf. He was charged with taking a child without authority, being concerned in the supply of a Class B drug (cannabis), being in possession of a Class B drug (cannabis) and cultivating cannabis plants. He pleaded guilty to possession of a Class B drug and cultivating cannabis plants and denied the other two charges.
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Ashley Roberts-Araujo,19, (left) and Inno Makolo, 21, have been jailed for an attack which left a teenager with life-changing injuries in Eastbourne. Both admitted wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place when they appeared in court on May 21. The charges related to an assault in Terminus Road on Saturday 10 April in which a 17-year-old boy suffered a significant stab wound to the stomach. Makolo, unemployed, of Chatsworth Road, Hackney, was sentenced to six years detention in a young offenders institution and Roberts-Araujo, a scaffolder, of Sutton Way, Kensington, was sentenced to six years imprisonment. Both were also given sentences of six months, to run concurrently with the six year sentences, for possession of offensive weapons.
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Gary Fenn, 50, of Saxon Road, Saxmundham, Suffolk, appeared in custody at Hove Crown Court on Friday November 5 and was given a nine-year extended sentence, comprising five years imprisonment and four extended period on prison release licence. He had travelled more than 150 miles to prey on a young girl in West Sussex He had been convicted of sexual assaulting the girl, who was under 13, and of two breaches of Sex Offender Registration Notification requirements. He will also continue to be a registered sex offender for life and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to last indefinitely, severely restricting his access to children and digital communication devices.
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Elizabeth Smith, 52, previously of Winchelsea Beach but now of Wilton Road, Bexhill, was sentenced at Hove Crown Court on Tuesday 2 November. Smith, who was working as an estate agent, defrauded an elderly client out of £160,000, is now starting a five-year prison sentence. Her victim, Joan Cannon from St Leonards, had been in court to see Smith admit the offence earlier this year, but sadly died soon afterwards. She was 82. Smith had been trading as Waves Estates in Cinque Ports Street, Rye, and pleaded guilty on 11 August to fraud by abuse of position between 2018 and 2019, by defrauding Joan of £160,000 which Joan had given her to help complete purchase of a property. Smith instead kept the money and spent it on herself, including on expensive holidays and a new car.
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Adam Adams, 26, of Aldwick Road, Bognor, was given a 30-month prison sentence at Portsmouth Crown Court on Monday 22 November, having previously admitted five counts of possession of cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply, possession of an offensive weapon, a knuckleduster, and money laundering. He was stopped by police for driving with no insurance.
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Officers from the Specialist Enforcement Unit (SEU) were on patrol approaching Elm Grove in Brighton when they were alerted to a vehicle without insurance at 3.45pm on October 15. The officers turned on the siren and blue lights in order to stop the black BMW, which at first pulled over. But when an officer got out to speak to the driver, the driver reversed the vehicle and drove away at speed. Further specialist officers from the Roads Policing Unit (RPU), Tactical Firearms Unit (TFU) and SEU were called in to locate the vehicle, as well as the National Police Air Service helicopter (NPAS). The vehicle was being driven by Slah Hassine, 51, of Junction Road, Burgess Hill, and it was traced to Warren Road, Brighton, travelling towards Woodingdean. Footage shows the moment when Hassine spotted that he was being tracked by the helicopter. It captured him swearing at the camera out of his window before he attempted a turn in the road to travel in the opposite direction. He then drove over a traffic island and bol
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David Conrad, 57, of Pepper Lane, Ashurst, was sentenced to seven years in prison at Brighton Crown Court on 18 November, having been convicted of indecent assault on the girl, then aged eight, while they were spectators at the Shoreham Air Show in August 2003. He will also serve a further year on extended prison released licence and will be a registered sex offender indefinitely.
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Scott Porter of St Joseph’s Way, Haywards Health pleaded guilty to the charges at the Central Criminal Court on 29 September and was sentenced yesterday (30/11) at the same court to a total of four years and three months imprisonment and a Serious Crime Prevention Order for five years. He will also be placed on an extended licence for four years. The 43-year-old admitted to making or possessing an explosive substance in suspicious circumstances under section 4 of the Explosives Substances Act 1883 and possessing terrorist related material under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Two searches were carried out at properties in Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill in connection with this investigation in August last year.