These are some of the most serious, high profile and prolific offenders who were jailed in the fifth month of 2024.
All information comes directly from Sussex Police.
13. Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in May 2024
A disqualified driver who repeatedly stole fuel from a petrol station in Fontwell has been jailed. John Ward changed vehicles and registration plates to evade being identified. But thanks to work by officers from the Specialist Enforcement Unit (SEU) he was identified from CCTV footage and they were then able to arrest him. Officers from the Chichester Response Investigation Team (RIT) continued the investigation, interviewing Ward. Ward, aged 34, was charged with 14 counts of making off without payment, and two counts of driving while disqualified. At Lewes Crown Court on April 26 he admitted the charges and was sentenced to four months in prison. He was also further disqualified from driving for two years. The court was told how the thefts dated between January 30, 2022, and January 24 this year. CCTV showed Ward, unemployed of Station Road, Burgess Hill, using the petrol station and filling up different vehicles each time. He would sometimes switch registration plates on vehicles. The estimated value of the fuel thefts was more than £1,800. Photo: Sussex Police
14. Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in May 2024
A drug driver caused serious injuries after he swerved and collided head-on with another vehicle near Chichester. Charlie Bedworth, 37, failed to see a vehicle ahead of him indicating to turn right off the Selsey Road B2145 near Hunston. He attempted to evade a collision but in doing so drove into the path of an oncoming vehicle. At the roadside Bedworth provided a positive DrugWipe test for cocaine. The victim, a 53-year-old local man from Selsey, was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. He continues to require ongoing treatment and rehabilitation for his injuries nearly a year after the crash. At Portsmouth Crown Court on May 10, Bedworth, unemployed of Justin Close, Brentford, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drug-driving. He was sentenced to four years in prison and was disqualified from driving for five years. The court heard how the incident happened at about 7.40am on June 10 last year. A motorist in a Range Rover ahead of Bedworth had indicated to make a right turn. But Bedworth, driving at speed in an Audi Q5, failed to see the vehicle braking for the turn. At the last moment, he swerved into the path of an oncoming Kia Picanto. Bedworth failed a roadside DrugWipe test which indicated cocaine in his body. His later blood test showed he had 296 micrograms (ug) of the chemical breakdown of cocaine, called benzoylecgonine, per litre of blood in his body. The legal limit for this chemical breakdown product is 50ug per litre of blood in the body. At interview he initially claimed he had not taken any drugs and speculated he may have had a drink spiked while dining at a restaurant. But when asked how two independent tests could be wrong, and asked if he had taken any drugs in the seven days prior to the collision, he refused to answer. Photo: Sussex Police
15. Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in May 2024
A man has been jailed after stealing a bike and making threats with an angle grinder in Brighton. George Jhugroo, 24, of Brookfields Avenue in Mitcham was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on May 23 following a guilty plea last month. On May 28, 2023, the victim left his bike locked up in Kings Road, near Cavendish Place while he was on the lower seafront promenade. A short while later, the victim looked up to Kings Road to see sparks and a man, now known to be Jhugroo, using an angle grinder to remove the lock from his bike. Members of the public gathered around Jhugroo, requesting he stop, and in response he threatened to assault them with the angle grinder. After removing the lock, Jhugroo rode off on the bike towards Norfolk Square. Following the robbery, Jhugroo sustained an injury during an altercation, and the bike was later recovered. The same day, Jhugroo attended the Royal Sussex County hospital for treatment, where he was intercepted by police and arrested in relation to the matter. He was then bailed with strict conditions pending further enquiries. Jhugroo was charged on February 5 with robbery and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. On April 4, Jhugroo pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced on May 23 to 33 months imprisonment. Photo: Sussex Police