Here we take a look at some of the criminals locked up during the first four months of 2025.
All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
25. Locked up in Sussex 2025: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
Prolific burglar Adam Persad has been jailed for six years. Persad, 60, of Beaufort Road, St Leonards, was found guilty of burgling three homes in the town in July last year, stealing a watch, cash and bank cards, which he later used. One resident woke to find him in her kitchen and needed hospital treatment when he injured her arm as he moved her out of the way to leave. She later found her handbag had been stolen. Persad pleaded not guilty to the burglary charges but pleaded guilty to theft of a jacket from a business premises, fraud and possession of cannabis during a trial in January and was sentenced for all offences when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court on March 3. Photo: Sussex Police
26. Locked up in Sussex 2025: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
Amy Jones was given a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) on December 15, 2023 in a bid to prevent further offending. But she ignored the prohibitions and continued to steal items including meat, sweets and alcohol. The stores she targeted were Co-Op in Tarring Road, Worthing; Co-Op in Rowlands Road, Worthing; Co-Op in North Road, Lancing; Asda in South Street, Lancing; and B&M in the Guildbourne Centre, Worthing. Jones was arrested and charged with 10 counts of theft and 10 counts of breach of her CBO between January 5 and February 14 this year. The 32-year-old, of Byron Road, Worthing, was remanded in custody to appear before Crawley Magistrates’ Court on February 17, where she pleaded guilty to all offences. She was further remanded for sentencing on March 17 at Lewes Crown Court, where she was sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment. Her CBO was extended for a further three years, until March 17, 2028. Photo: Sussex Police
27. Locked up in Sussex 2025: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A man who travelled to the UK and engaged in sexual activity with a young teenage girl has been sentenced. Hamdan Alshamsi, 21, was in contact with the girl online and booked a hotel in Brighton when he arrived to the UK. Police carried out an extensive search of the hotel and seafront to safely locate the victim who received support from specially-trained officers. Alshamsi was also safely arrested at the scene. At Lewes Crown Court on March 25, Alshamsi was jailed for six years, after admitting three counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child at an earlier hearing. The court was told how the victim, a teenage girl who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had left her home and travelled to Brighton to meet Alshamsi, who knew her age. Officers were able to locate her after a lengthy search over several hours along Brighton seafront. The victim was found wandering in the hotel by officers, and was taken into police protection. Officers searched the hotel to look for Alshamsi, who was eventually found in the wellness and spa area and placed under arrest. He reserved a hotel room on Brighton seafront on December 27, 2024, and she later attended the hotel that day, where he then committed sexual offences against her. Inside his room, police found condoms and vodka that he had purchased. Alshamsi, of no fixed address, had travelled from the United Arab Emirates to the UK. The victim’s family said the sexual offences continue to have a long-lasting impact on her. Photo: Sussex Police
28. Locked up in Sussex 2025: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A man who stabbed three people in Hastings town centre in an unprovoked attack has been sentenced. Nicky Warnes made threats to two men not known to him at a late-night restaurant in Havelock Road. He then confronted them and stabbed the two men in the chest. A woman working nearby intervened and was also stabbed in the arm. All three victims required hospital treatment, including one man for a collapsed lung. One victim said: “I don’t know why we were attacked, all we did was walk past him, and once he had started having a go I could tell he was looking to get into a fight.” Warnes tried to hide the knife in a bin inside the restaurant, but this was recovered by officers. He was swiftly arrested and was charged with three counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and one count of possession of a bladed article in public. Warnes, 46, of no fixed address, admitted the charges when he appeared before Lewes Crown Court in November last year. He appeared for sentencing at Hove Crown Court on March 19, where he was jailed for life, to serve a minimum term of eight years. The court was told how the incident happened at about 2.40am on October 19 last year. Two men walked past Warnes, and he followed them and made threats. Then during the course of an altercation, he took out a knife and stabbed the two men, and a woman who tried to intervene to help. One victim described the long term impact of having ongoing pain and nightmares as a result of the unprovoked attack. The other two victims described the impact of their injuries as ongoing with hospital treatment and stab wounds. Photo: Sussex Police