These criminals will be ringing in the new year behind bars thanks to the relentless work of the police, supporting agencies and the bravery of their victims. All information on the cases come from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court first-hand.
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Some of the criminals jailed in Sussex in December and very late November SUS-210901-134514001
. Daniel Appleton, Crawley Down
Daniel Appleton, 38, was found guilty of murdering his wife and a 76-year-old neighbour who rushed to help. Appleton had attacked his wife, Amy Appleton, on the drive of their Hazel Way home in Crawley Down on December 22, 2019. Sandy Seagrave, 76, was passing and crossed the road to confront Appleton, who beat her with her own walking stick. He then used the stick to further attack his wife. Both women were pronounced dead at the scene. Appleton then reentered the house and was found by police inside, having inflicted multiple life-threatening injuries to himself. His friends and family said he had been acting strangely leading up to the incident and witnesses said he seemed 'like he was possessed'. Three psychiatric assessments considered Appleton to have experienced a brief psychotic episode at the time of the killings and hallucinogenic drugs were found in his system. Appleton was convicted of murder on December 29 and will be sentenced on January 25.
. Amy Winter, Brighton
Forty-year-old Amy Winter assaulted two paramedics who were trying to give her treatment following a fire at her flat in Surrey Street, Brighton, on Christmas Eve. Winter was being treated in the back of an ambulance, while the fire service put out the fire shortly after 3pm, but she repeatedly punched the paramedics, causing minor arm injuries. She was arrested and pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting an emergency worker on Boxing Day. She was sentenced to six months in prison.
. Carl Duncan, Enfield
Carl Duncan, 61, of Colvin Gardens in Enfield, was jailed after racking up penalty points on a woman's driving licence by giving her details when he was caught carrying out motoring offences. He used his own bank card to pay the fines, but intercepted his victim's mail and admitted the offences on her behalf. It was only after the woman reported a separate incident to police that the allegations came to light. Duncan had been caught speeding on the A22 in Whyteleafe in May 2016 and on the A22 in East Grinstead in August 2017. He also ran a red light in Norwood Road in London on February 21, 2017. He pleaded guilty to three counts of perverting the course of justice at Lewes Crown Court on Tuesday 8 December, where he was sentenced to 255 days’ imprisonment and further disqualified from driving for 24 months.
. Christopher Light, Broadbridge Heath
Christopher Light, 42, was caught breaking into a car just days after being convicted of similar offences. Light, of Broadbridge Heath, was given a 12-month community order on December 21 after being found guilty of four counts of vehicle interference. But just a week later, on December 28, he was witnessed rummaging through the glovebox of a car in Ellis Road. He was arrested and found to be in possession of a bank card belonging to someone else. Light was charged with vehicle interference, theft of a bank card and breach of a community order and jailed for 32 weeks on December 30.
. Glenn Waters, no fixed address
A collaborative effort from agencies across Sussex brought prolific offender Glenn Waters to justice. The 34-year-old, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to five counts of criminal damage in Shoreham between October 15 and 16, two counts of stalking involving fear of violence on September 27 and October 16, and one count of theft from a motorcycle on October 16. He was also convicted of one count of assault in Hove on January 24, 2019, for which he had failed to appear at court on November 12 last year. He was arrested on the A27 near Emsworth on November 24 after missing the court hearing. Waters was jailed for 42 weeks on November 30. Detective Sergeant Stuart McAdams of West Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit said: "Glenn Waters is no stranger to us, having been convicted of a number of other offences in the past few years. This outcome was the result of a big team effort across the force in West Sussex, including CID, response officers and our intel team as well as the SIU
9. Luke Viceray, Bexhill
Luke Vicarey, 23, was caught driving at 42mph in a 30mph zone in Cooden Drive, Bexhill but, when an officer signalled for him to stop, he sped off at 70mph. After being located at Wallsend roundabout, Vicarey made off westbound along the A27 Pevensey Bypass, making dangerous overtakes forcing others to take evasive action. The pursuit had to be called off, but he was tracked by traffic cameras heading towards Hastings. Officers waited for him on Combe Valley Way and, at around 8.20am, Vicarey spotted them and tried to escape again. Police made tactical contact with his car and arrested him. Vicarey, of Albert Road, was charged with two counts of driving a motor vehicle dangerously, two counts of failing to stop a vehicle when directed to do so by police, driving while disqualified, using a motor vehicle on a road without third party insurance, exceeding a 30mph speed limit and fraudulently using a registration mark. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison on December 18 and disqualified from driving for 30 m
10. Mark Wilkinson, Crawley
Forty-eight-year-old Mark Wilkinson was jailed at the beginning of December for setting fire to several bins in Brighton. Wilkinson, of Brighton Road in Crawley, was charged with three counts of arson after fire crews extinguished bins in central Brighton on November 29 and 30. He pleaded guilty to the offences at Brighton Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, December 2 and was sentenced to six months in prison. Detective Inspector Glenn Taylor said: "Deliberately starting fires is extremely dangerous and it is fortunate that nobody was hurt as a result of these incidents. Wilkinson caused multiple fires in busy areas with no regard for the safety and welfare of the local community which is completely unacceptable. We are pleased the courts have acknowledged the seriousness of these offences by jailing him for six months."
11. Florentin Niculae, George Paun and Stela Sava
These three people were jailed after stealing a £12,000 watch from a shop in Brighton in October. Florentin Niculae, 46, of no fixed address, George Paun, 29, of no fixed address, and Stela Sava, 23, of Boundary Road in London, appeared at Lewes Crown Court on December 17 where they all pleaded guilty to theft. In addition, Niculae pleaded guilty to assault and Paun pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. On October 7 at 2.15pm, Sava and Niculae went into a shop in London Road, Brighton, while Paul waited outside in a Mercedes. They stole the watch and fled to the car, but Niculae assaulted the pursuing shop owner. He was then dragged along the ground by the car as it sped off. Police caught the vehicle leaving Brighton on the A23 and quickly arrested all three and recovered the watch. Niculae was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment, Paun was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment and Sava was sentenced to four months imprisonment.
12. Paul Tully, Bognor Regis
Paul Tully, 37, of Ash Grove in Bognor Regis, was arrested for burglary in November, after which officers discovered he had also committed separate fraud offences. Police were called to Victoria Drive in Bognor at 4.50am on November 3, to reports of a man breaking into a property. A suspect, Tully, was quickly arrested and a window pane near the front door was found to have been broken. He pleaded guilty to burglary and to a separate fraud by misrepresentation after he was found to have been using somebody else's bank card at a supermarket. He was jailed for 36 months at Portsmouth Crown Court on December 2. Detective Sergeant Ali Hutchings said; "This outcome was the result of a big team effort across our local CID and Response teams, resulting in another burglar being brought to justice."