Here we take a look at some of the criminals locked up during the final four months of the year.
All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
49. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between September and December
A woman has been sentenced after she financially extorted her victims on the streets of Brighton and Hove. Shona Stiles, 36, of no fixed address, was arrested in Hove on November 27 following a string of frauds across the city. Stiles approached her targets and stated she needed cash but was unable to make withdrawals as she didn’t have a bank card. Her act was to emotionally coerce her victims into handing over the money, then pretend to immediately transfer the funds back using a fake banking phoneline and falsified transfer confirmations. She would tell her victims stories to take advantage of their kindness, such as needing money to get a taxi for her child or trying to escape a boyfriend. Following her stories, Stiles would take the victims to cashpoints, where they would withdraw and hand over up to hundreds of pounds, expecting it to be returned electronically shortly after. Stiles appeared at Brighton Magistrates' Court on November 29, charged with seven counts of fraud, and one of theft. She pleaded guilty to the charges and has been sentenced to six months in prison. Photo: Sussex Police
50. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between September and December
Two notorious drug dealers have been jailed after police disrupted their illegal activity in Crawley. Anton Reynolds (pictured) and Wayne McFarlane were arrested during County Lines Intensification Week, which ran from 9 to 15 October. After responding to an unrelated incident earlier this year, officers discovered a bulk text message on a person’s mobile phone. Data analysis was carried out on the number the message was sent from, which revealed it was being used to run the ‘JC’ line to deliver drugs from London to Crawley. On 10 October, police identified an Airbnb in the town which had been booked in the name of one of the suspects – Reynolds, 31, of Rathlin Road, Crawley. He was seen to enter the property in possession of a large holdall and then leave. He was stopped and searched, and found in possession of a number of wraps. A search of the holdall revealed a quantity of cash, while further drugs were found within the property. Reynolds was arrested and charged with possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin, being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, and possession of cannabis. At Lewes Crown Court on Friday 17 November, Reynolds was sentenced to 49 months’ imprisonment. Photo: Sussex Police
51. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between September and December
Two notorious drug dealers have been jailed after police disrupted their illegal activity in Crawley. Anton Reynolds and Wayne McFarlane (pictured) were arrested during County Lines Intensification Week, which ran from 9 to 15 October. After responding to an unrelated incident earlier this year, officers discovered a bulk text message on a person’s mobile phone. Data analysis was carried out on the number the message was sent from, which revealed it was being used to run the ‘JC’ line to deliver drugs from London to Crawley. On 11 October, the second suspect, McFarlane, 28, of Cornell Square, Lambeth, was stopped by Sussex Police officers working in partnership with the Met Police’s Op Orochi team in Fullwell Road, London, and searched. A search of his address was carried out, where various drugs were located. McFarlane was arrested and charged with being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin. Both defendants were remanded in custody and pleaded guilty to all offences. At Lewes Crown Court on Friday 17 November, McFarlane was sentenced to 38 months’ imprisonment. Photo: Sussex Police
52. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between September and December
A man who sexually assaulted five women as they walked in public in Bexhill has been given a seven-year sentence, police have confirmed. Max Wright, 27, formerly of Amherst Road in Bexhill, was charged with five counts of sexual assault relating to three separate incidents between November 2022 and June 2023. The first incident was reported on November 20, 2022. A woman walking alone from Bexhill Railway Station the night before was grabbed and sexually assaulted by a man giving the name of Maximiliano. Police said she engaged him in conversation to placate him, before running away from the scene. An investigation was launched the next day including extensive CCTV trawls and house to house enquiries, but a suspect could not be identified. Overnight on April 15/16, 2023, three women walking from Cooden Railway Station were repeatedly sexually assaulted by a man who threatened to rape them before fleeing the scene. It was reported on April 16 and officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team visited the scene the same day, carried out enquiries and identified a suspect. Wright was arrested the next day, linked to both incidents and released on conditional bail while further enquiries were carried out. In the early hours of June 24, another woman was sexually assaulted while walking in Bexhill by a man who threatened to rape her. Police said that she was on the phone to a friend at the time and managed to capture brief footage of the attack. Wright was swiftly identified as a suspect, arrested within hours and subsequently charged with five counts of sexual assault. He pleaded guilty to all counts on July 24 at Hove Crown Court. At the same court on December 1, Wright was given a four-year jail sentence, with another three years to be spent on licence. He was also given restraining orders against each victim and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely. Photo: Sussex Police