Here we take a look at some of the criminals locked up during the summer of 2024.
All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
17. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A fifteenth member of a major drugs gang has been sentenced, bringing their total jail time to more than 90 years. Multiple arrests were made as Sussex Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) led an investigation in the wide-scale supply of Class A and B substances in the county. A number of warrants and stop checks were executed, and cocaine and cannabis with a combined street value of £480,000 to £600,000 – and around £157,795 cash – were seized. The targeted activity was made possible with the support of the Community Investigations Team, the Economic Crime Unit, the Specialist Enforcement Unit, the Tactical Enforcement Unit, the Roads Policing Unit, the Tactical Firearms Unit and numerous Neighbourhood Policing Teams. Investigations revealed the mass distribution and supply of substances had taken place in the Worthing area between March 2020 and June 2021. During this time, officers identified two local Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) who were purchasing large quantities of cocaine and cannabis from other OCGs in London, Luton and elsewhere, and selling them on for profit locally. Through painstaking investigations and working with partners, police were able to identify a number of suspects. Fourteen were previously convicted and are currently serving time in prison. Fifteenth member Terrence White, 34, of Mill Road, Worthing, is the latest to join them, having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. At Lewes Crown Court on May 31, he was sentenced to four years and 10 months’ imprisonment. Photo: Sussex Police
18. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A man has been jailed for a vicious assault in Haywards Heath. Officers were called to a disturbance at an address in Burchetts Close at around 10.30pm on October 8, 2023. It was heard that Bradley Garrett entered the property uninvited with a bottle of wine. He proceeded to hit the occupant of the address with the wine bottle, causing it to smash. There was a brief fight between Garrett and the victim, causing serious injury to his face. He was arrested on October 24, 2023 and later charged with Section 18 Grievous Bodily Harm. Garrett, 22, of no fixed address pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment when he appeared before Lewes Crown Court on June 17. Photo: Sussex Police
19. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A robber who threatened and assaulted a shop worker in Eastbourne has been jailed. Edward Bunce targeted the Post Office in Seaside. He lunged towards a shop worker with a knife and stole money from the premises. But he left his baseball hat behind which carried his DNA. His DNA also linked him to a burglary committed at a business premises in Hawthorn Road. At Lewes Crown Court on June 7, Bunce admitted burglary and robbery. Bunce, 37, of Etchingham Road, Eastbourne, was sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison. The court heard how the first incident, the burglary in Hawthorn Road, happened on November 12 last year. A shop window was smashed, but blood was found at the scene that matched Bunce’s DNA. Then on December 1 last year he robbed the Post Office and stole a large quantity of cash. The victim was left shaken by the incident. Photo: Sussex Police
20. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A suspected drug-driver failed to register a new vehicle with police, putting him in breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Steven Shevlin was stopped by officers from the Specialist Enforcement Unit (SEU) carrying out proactive patrols near Arundel. The unit aims to deny criminals the use of the road network. It followed a request from the Violent Sex Offender Register Team (ViSOR) who police offenders subject to the Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and work with Sussex Police teams to ensure these orders are enforced. Shevlin had a fraudulent registration mark on his vehicle, and was also found in possession of cannabis and offensive weapons in the form of a baton and a knuckle duster. The 34-year-old appeared before Lewes Crown Court on May 16 for sentence. It followed an investigation by officers from Crawley CID to ensure the conviction in court. Shevlin, formerly of Stoney Lane, Shoreham, admitted breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which was imposed in 2020, requiring him to provide information to police in order to protect the public from the risk of sexual harm. But he failed to declare the new vehicle he was driving. He also admitted possession of cannabis, fraudulent use of a vehicle registration mark, failing to provide a specimen of blood for analysis when suspected of drug-driving, possession of offensive weapons, and driving without valid insurance. Shevlin was sentenced to a total of 50 weeks in prison for the offences and was given a further three-year driving disqualification. Drug-driving is one of the fatal five factors that lead to people being killed or seriously injured on our roads. The court was told how the SEU carried out patrols in Arundel on November 23 last year. Shevlin was stopped while driving a Ford Transit van, he provided a positive roadside DrugWipe test for cannabis, but refused to provide a sample of blood when he was taken to custody. Photo: Sussex Police