Here we take a look at some of the criminals locked up during the first four months of the year.
All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
57. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A man who dealt Class A drugs to fund his lavish lifestyle has been jailed. Louis Seyfi was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for being concerned in the supply of cocaine and possession with intent to supply cocaine following a trial at Lewes Crown Court. The court heard how he purchased designer clothes, a BMW xDrive with a personalised number plate and high spec mountain bikes using the money he made from selling drugs in the Worthing area. He was identified by Sussex Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit as being linked to a key defendant during their Operation Smith investigation into the large-scale distribution and supply of illegal substances. Officers executed a Misuse of Drugs Act warrant at his home in Chancton View Road, Worthing, on October 26, 2021, where they seized a quantity of cash, cocaine and two mobile phones which had evidence of his criminal activity. The 25-year-old had denied the offence, but a jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict following a thee-day hearing which concluded on April 15. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for this offence, plus a further two years’ imprisonment for similar offences in 2019 – which he pleaded guilty to – to run consecutively. Photo: Sussex Police
58. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A man who was part of a group who robbed an elderly man in his home in Hailsham has been sentenced. Joshua McKenzie was in a group of four people who broke into the property in Ersham Road in the early hours of October 7 last year. A man in his 80s was threatened for money and was struck during the incident, then cash was taken from the address. McKenzie was linked after his DNA was found at the scene. After a trial at Lewes Crown Court, McKenzie, 41, of Orchard Grove, Penge, was found guilty of robbery. On April 10 he was sentenced to nine years in prison. Photo: Sussex Police
59. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A Brighton man who assaulted a woman before a three-hour stand-off with police officers has been jailed. Shortly after midnight on August 24, 2023, police were called to a property in High Street, Brighton, to reports of a woman being assaulted and threatened. Officers attended the scene and Oliver Phipps, 39, of no fixed address, was found sat on a ninth-storey window ledge wielding two large knives. Specialist negotiators engaged with Phipps for around three hours, while he threw items from the window, including a mirror and a bedside cabinet, to the street below. Phipps was finally arrested after coming down from the ledge in the early hours of the morning. He was subsequently charged with two counts of causing actual bodily harm, affray, criminal damage and intentional strangulation. He pleaded guilty to affray, criminal damage and one count of causing actual bodily harm, and was found guilty of intentional strangulation. He was found not guilty of one count of causing actual bodily harm. At Lewes Crown Court on April 12, Phipps was jailed for three years and six months. Photo: Sussex Police
60. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A roofer from Horsham has been jailed for a violent assault on a woman. On August 18, a woman in her 40s reported having suffered a sustained assault on the night of August 15 and morning of August 16. She suffered significant injuries requiring hospital treatment. It was heard that Sam Everitt assaulted his victim throughout the night as they travelled from Croydon to Horsham, leaving her out of consciousness on multiple occasions. Everitt, 34, of no fixed address, was identified as a suspect and actively sought for arrest. After several address checks and weeks of tracking, Everitt was located and arrested on October 18. He was charged with Section 18 grievous bodily harm with intent. Everitt appeared before Chichester Crown Court and pleaded guilty to Section 20 grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced to three years and seven months’ imprisonment and handed a five-year retraining order against the victim. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge. Everitt’s victim is being supported by specialist officers. Photo: Sussex Police