Here we take a look at some of the criminals locked up during the summer of 2023.
All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
9. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A 53-year-old man from Bognor Regis has been jailed for nine years after a serious knife attack. The incident took place on the afternoon of February 10, when Michail Michailov, who had been drinking with at least three other people at a flat in Bersted Green Court, attacked one of them for unknown reasons. The victim, a 52-year-old man suffered a 10cm chest wound, where doctors confirmed the knife had narrowly missed his heart and lungs. By the time police were informed, Michailov had fled the scene. He was arrested shortly afterwards, following a series of police enquiries. Michailov, of Upper Bognor Road, was charged with grievous bodily harm. Although he replied ‘no comment’ to police questioning, he later admitted to the offence when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court on April 13. He was sentenced to four years imprisonment with an extended sentence of five years. Photo: Sussex Police
10. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A man has been jailed after he was found guilty of the rape of a woman on Brighton beach. Sussex Police said Przemyslaw Pogorzzelec, 43, ‘forced himself upon’ his victim around 2am on July 31 last year. Police said he also ‘took intimate photographs’ of her on his mobile phone. The incident happened in the early hours on the beach ‘but was seen by witnesses’, police said. "They were approached by members of the Beach Patrol and security, where she told them she had not consented,” a police spokesperson said. Pogorzzelec was then detained and arrested by officers. Police said Pogorzzelec ‘claimed he had chatted with the young woman’ and ‘had consensual sex with her’. “But when questioned by officers he could not remember her name, age, or anything about her,” police added. “Witnesses said she was not able to give consent. She was given support by specially-trained officers throughout the investigation.” Despite denying the offence, Pogorzzelec – a builder of no fixed address but formerly of an address in Hove – was convicted by the jury after a trial in January. He was found guilty of rape, and of sexual assault by penetration, police said. At Lewes Crown Court on May 2, police said Pogorzzelec was jailed for a total of 12 years, and an extended licence period of three years was also imposed. At his sentencing hearing, it was revealed how Pogorzzelec was convicted in 2013 for exposure, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act. Photo: Sussex Police
11. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A Sussex man who bombarded almost 60 women with hundreds of threatening and malicious phone calls has been jailed. Sussex Police said Ameer Tahir, 42, of Kings Road in Brighton, had initially been charged with 13 counts of stalking, but phone enquiries and the discovery of a further mobile phone in his flat uncovered dozens more victims ‘from all over the country’. “Tahir would call his victims at all times of the day and night on a withheld number, making obscene threats including rape and other violent sexual acts,” a police spokesperson said. “He had accessed the contact details of many victims through mutual acquaintances and his job in the hospitality industry, which meant he could further torment them with personal details such as their names, descriptions of their appearance and other private information.” ‘Despite always withholding his number’, police were able to trace Tahir and arrest him at his home. The police spokesperson added: “He was released on conditional bail while the investigation continued and a subsequent search of his property found a second mobile phone, which revealed he had continued to target victims while on police bail and that the number of those affected was far greater than first believed. Tahir was further arrested on Monday, December, 5 2022, and charged with 12 counts of stalking, two counts of sending communication conveying indecent/offensive messages, one count of racially aggravated stalking, failure to comply with the sex offenders’ register and possession of a Class B drug and pleaded guilty to all counts on Monday, January 16.” Police said further investigation uncovered 44 additional stalking victims, which Tahir ‘admitted to be taken into consideration upon sentencing’. At Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday, May 10, Tahir was given a 13-year sentence, including nine years in custody and a further four on extended licence. HHJ Van der Zwart said consideration would also be given to a restraining order and Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Photo: Sussex Police
12. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A man who operated two county drug lines in Brighton and Hove has been jailed. Oussama Bouhamidi, 21, of Westcroft Close in Camden, controlled the ‘Frank’ and ‘Antz’ drug lines that ran between London and the coast between December 19, 2022, and February 22, police said. Following an investigation into the lines, police executed a warrant in Westcroft Close in the early hours of Thursday, March 2. Bouhamidi, who was inside, was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin), police added. Several mobile phones were seized, alongside about £5,000 in cash, a significant quantity of crack cocaine and heroin and other drug paraphernalia. A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: “He was subsequently charged with being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and possession of criminal property and found guilty on all counts at Lewes Crown Court on April 11. At the same court on Wednesday, May 3, Bouhamidi was sentenced to five years and seven months in prison.” Photo: Sussex Police