Here we take a look at some of the criminals locked up during the first third of the year.
All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
17. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A Brighton man has been jailed after leaving one shopper unconscious and another with broken bones during two separate incidents at a supermarket. Sussex Police said ‘thug’ Levant Hassan, 36, of Percival Terrace, has been sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for the ‘unprovoked attacks’, which took place at Asda at Brighton Marina. On October 9, 2020, he was challenged by another customer about not wearing a mask during the coronavirus pandemic. In response to this, he rammed his trolley into the man’s leg, causing pain and bruising. He then drew the trolley back and rammed it towards him again – this time more forcefully – which caused the victim to sustain broken bones in his foot. Hassan then attempted to punch the man, who stepped back to avoid contact, before he left the store. On December 6, Hassan confronted a fellow shopper in the car park after they bumped shoulders. The man apologised and the pair exchanged words. A few minutes later, this time inside the store, Hassan again confronted the same man and suggested they both go outside. The man declined, insisting he was just there to do his shopping, and without warning he was punched to the face by Hassan, causing him to fall to the ground. The defendant again left the store following the incident, while his victim lay unconscious on the floor. He sustained a broken ankle which left him unable to work for several months. Police said Hassan was identified through enquiries and charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm – with both victims left seriously injured. He pleaded guilty to the first offence and was found guilty of the second offence by a jury of eleven men and one woman, and was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment for each count – to run consecutively – at Lewes Crown Court on February 16, police revealed. Photo: Sussex Police
18. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A man who used a dog chain to smash multiple windows at a council-owned building in Worthing has been jailed. Gavin Collett will spend 14-months behind bars, after causing more than £18,000 worth of damage at Portland House in Richmond Road, according to Sussex Police. The 39-year-old had been housed at the temporary accommodation, at the time the offences were committed, police said. Police said Collett used a heavy weighted dog chain to smash eight windows in the early hours of February 11 last year. “He then threw bricks or stones to smash a further three windows and a glass door at the premises on the evening of February 17, 2022,” a police spokesperson added. He was identified through CCTV footage and arrested by officers, and charged with two counts of criminal damage. Police said Collett pleaded guilty to the offences. Photo: Sussex Police
19. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A ‘dangerous individual’ who raped a vulnerable women, he met in a bar in East Sussex, will now spend more than six years in jail. Sussex Police said Angelo Giovino, 50, of Holland Road in Hove, met his victim – a woman in her 20s – in a bar in Hove in September 2018. "He took her to an address to which he had access and, once inside, Giovino sexually assaulted and raped her,” a police spokesperson said. Police received a report from the victim the following morning, and the next day Giovino was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault. Giovino was subsequently charged with rape and sexual assault. At Lewes Crown Court on Tuesday, February 14, he was found guilty of rape and one count of sexual assault. On February 17, Giovino was sentenced to six-and-half-years in prison for rape and three years for sexual assault, to run concurrently, police said. Photo: Sussex Police
20. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A Horsham man who made more than 7,000 calls to Sussex Police and SECAmb from September 2020 and was continually abusive to emergency service contact officers has been sentenced to 39-months in prison, Sussex Police has reported. Police said Roger Jackson, 77, pleaded guilty at a hearing at Lewes Crown Court on Friday, January 27. As part of the sentence Jackson will also have a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) for 10-years, Sussex Police added. Since September 2020, Jackson has wasted more 400-hours of time while speaking with contact officers from Sussex Police and SECAmb, police said. Jackson also persistently abused contact handlers from SECAmb, making almost 4,000 calls (3,976) through to 999. Photo: Sussex Police