Lots of people committed crimes and were jailed this month and are now spending time behind bars.

Here are just some of the criminals including burglars, dangerous drivers, drug smugglers, fraudsters, rapists, sex offenders, murderers and thugs who committed crimes and were locked up in May.

Stephanie Langley

A "manipulative" woman was jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years for the revenge murder of her "kind, popular and respected" former brother-in-law outside the pub he ran in Maidstone.

In what was the second violent, fatal tragedy to befall the Hare and Hounds in as little as 13 months, Stephanie Langley viciously and repeatedly knifed landlord Matthew Bryant - described as "everyone's friend" - while he was phoning police to report her for threatening to kill him.

Jurors at Maidstone Crown Court were able to witness his last moments alive from chilling CCTV footage overlaid with audio of his 999 call which recorded him telling the operator "I've just been stabbed."

Single mum-of-two Langley plunged the blade into Mr Bryant's chest and twice into his back during a confrontation just metres from his pub entrance on September 11.

She even callously told him "I told you I'd stab you" as she lashed out and Mr Bryant, a 52-year-old grandfather, collapsed unconscious within seconds and sadly died at the scene despite the heroic efforts of pub customers, passers-by - including an off-duty firefighter - and medical professionals.

In a twist of fate, the publican had himself stepped in as a first-aider when his pub pool team captain was fatally assaulted outside the Lower Boxley Road venue in August the previous year.

But as the desperate attempts were being made to keep Mr Bryant alive, an unrepentant Langley just stood by, encouraging others not to help him and ranting repeatedly that she was glad she had stabbed him, he deserved to die, and she was happy to go to jail.

Langley, of Wilsons Lane, East Farleigh, denied murder but was found unanimously guilty after the jury deliberated for just over three hours at the end of a three-week trial and Langley, once jailed for 11 years for drug smuggling, showed little emotion as the life sentence was imposed by Judge Philip St.John-Stevens.

Rimel Hanchard

A county lines drug dealer caught with a large knife and drugs down his trousers was jailed.

Rimel Hanchard was carrying a 25cm knife, more than 200 wraps of cocaine and heroin and £630 in cash when he was arrested in Luton Road, Chatham.

Plain clothes officers spotted the 22-year-old, who they suspected was involved in drug supply, get into a taxi on October 20. They then removed Hanchard from the vehicle and seized the sheathed knife from his waistband as well as the three packages concealed in his trousers containing the wraps and cash in his pockets.

Hanchard, formerly of Orpington, Greater London, was taken into custody and later charged with possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of heroin with intent to supply, possession of a knife in a public place and possessing criminal property.

He admitted all four offences when he appeared at Maidstone Crown Court and was sentenced to two years and six months in prison. The seized cash was also forfeited.

After sentencing, PC Oliver Matcham, said: “This dealer travelled to Kent armed with a large knife and was intent on selling a significant number of class A drug deals.

“He stood to make a considerable profit whilst causing misery for the communities of Chatham and bringing such a dangerous weapon onto the streets posed a considerable risk to local people until he was successfully detained by our proactive officers.

“A prison sentence was the only possible conclusion to his criminal activities.”

Christina Manen

A woman was jailed after a young man was stabbed to death with her help.

Christina Manen of Ramsgate was one of five criminals sentenced over the killing of 25-year-old Jordan Briscoe in March, 2023.

A jury heard how Manen, 37, lured the victim to Arnold Road, Tottenham, on the pretence of buying drugs from him, but in reality, she was not even in London and had drawn him to the scene of the crime to afford four men the chance to carry out a fatal attack.

Four others from London, Karl Black, 43 of Cassiobury Road, E17, Jahoe Allen, 34 of Kings Road UB8, Ayyub Kigoz, 19, of Salop Road and Jabir Sitar, 21 of Clacton Road, E17, were all found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey in March.

Doorbell footage recovered by police showed the group surround and talk to Mr Briscoe for around 11 minutes, before moving out of the camera’s view to carry out the fatal attack.

Police were called and officers and colleagues from the London Ambulance Service began first aid, but Mr Briscoe was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at hospital and a post-mortem examination found the cause of death to be sharp force trauma to the chest.

The defendants were all jailed at the same court with Manen, of Lancaster Close, Ramsgate given a three-year sentence for manslaughter.

The others, Black, Allen, Kigozi and Sitar were given sentences of 27-and-a-half years, 25-and-a half-years, 17 years and 19 years respectively, with Kigozi’s jail term also including a concurrent two-year sentence for robbing Mr Briscoe of his mobile phone around the same time of his death.

Josh Plant

A serial burglar was caught on camera as he targeted as many as nine homes in one hour.

In what Josh Plant himself later described as a "night of stupidity", the 22-year-old was recorded by a Ring doorbell breaking into a property in Beech Grove in Cliffsend, Ramsgate, at 11.45pm on October 13 last year.

Having forced his way in through patio doors and stolen a handbag and watch, the thief then made his way around neighbouring streets in a bid to find more loot. Canterbury Crown Court heard he was again filmed by doorbell cameras as he tried, unsuccessfully each time, to gain access to properties, in a second in Beech Grove, three in Earlsmead Crescent, and four others in Ash Court, Foads Lane, Delacourt Close and Old Hall Drive.

By 12.45am he was under arrest but became violent, kicking a female police constable multiple times in the legs and causing her to fall to the ground. It was also discovered that shortly before his burglary spree, he had been drinking at a friend's house, only to drive off in the pal's Vauxhall Astra without his permission

The car, which was reported as stolen at 11.30pm, was found the next day in a field off Nash Road, Margate, having ploughed through a fence and Plant, of Westbrook Road, Margate, subsequently admitted aggravated vehicle taking, burglary, eight offences of attempted burglary, and assault on an emergency worker.

The court was told he was on licence from prison at the time, having been jailed for a total of 32 months just a year earlier for offences which included three break-ins and at his sentencing hearing, he appeared via link with Sheppey prison Swaleside, having been recalled.

Defence barrister Samuel Glanville said Plant could not remember events on October 13 but added: "He says this was a night of stupidity he is sorry for."

Jailing him for a total of 21 months, Judge Simon Taylor KC remarked on the "destructive" impact burglaries have on householders and Plant was also made subject to a 12-month driving ban once released from prison.

Oliver Hills

A police officer feared he would be suffocated during a violent struggle with a drink-fuelled teenager on a train.

Shocking body-worn camera footage played at Maidstone Crown Court showed the moment PCs James Goodwin and Amy Glanville came under attack from passenger Oliver Hills, who had downed more than two litres of vodka.

The British Transport Police officers had boarded a train at Tunbridge Wells to arrest the then 19-year-old on suspicion of assaulting a Sussex Police constable two hours earlier, but instead of complying with their requests, the yob lashed out for several minutes and left PC Goodwin blue in the face from being smothered. He also sunk his teeth into PC Glanville's forearm as he was being restrained.

The officers, assisted by Southeastern staff, eventually had to resort to using Pava spray to force the thug to release his clamped-on jaw as the officer screamed in pain, and Hills later pleaded guilty to charges of assault on an emergency worker, non-fatal suffocation and assault causing actual bodily harm.

But although a judge accepted the now 20-year-old had a "complex" background which included drug-taking from the age of 11, a diagnosis of ADHD and being kidnapped as a teenager, he said he could not be spared jail for such an "outrageous" incident.

Hills, of Eastway, Hackney, east London, was finally brought under control with the Pava spray and detained and PC Goodwin sustained a minor head injury while PC Glanville was left with bruising to both legs and her left arm, and a bite mark with reddening, bruising and which pierced her skin.

Despite his young age, Hills has already notched up 10 previous convictions for 32 offences, including battery, assaulting emergency workers and robbery.

But on sentencing Hills to 14 months in a young offenders' institution, Recorder Thomas Moran said although he had taken into account the mitigation put forward, appropriate punishment could only be achieved by immediate custody.

Lewis Whittington and Kenny Harmsworth

Yobs who stabbed a 17-year-old in revenge for "losing face" in an apparent row over dogs were locked up.

Wearing masks and arming themselves with a machete and soldier knife, Lewis Whittington and Kenny Harmsworth ambushed their victim in public and broad daylight.

The teenager, who cannot be named, tried to fight off his assailants with a bag of shopping, but, having knifed the boy in the chest in what a judge described as "senseless and serious" violence, Whittington and Harmsworth fled in a waiting car, boasting "Got him".

The victim had to be airlifted to King's College Hospital in London where he underwent surgery for a collapsed lung and Canterbury Crown Court heard had he not had specialist treatment, a result of the planned and premeditated attack on August 16 last year, he could have died.

The court heard the victim had previously had a "run-in" with Whittington, then 18, and 22-year-old Harmsworth about "dogs supposedly making a mess" when they had met up at a property and had an argument. During the incident, threats were made by both defendants by using weapons, the victim was able to run away, but the threats to kill continued when he was phoned by Harmsworth from a withheld number, and later when walking with a friend in Canterbury, a Ford Fiesta pulled up and the thugs clambered out.

Whittington then used the machete, making a stabbing motion towards his chest, and the boy spent a week in hospital, having suffered a punctured and collapsed left lung, as well as a partial collapse of his right lung.

On his arrest, Whittington, now 19 and of no fixed address, was found to have 46 wraps of cocaine in his trouser waistband as well as a burner phone.

He later admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent, possessing a bladed article and possessing class A drugs with intent to supply and Harmsworth, now 23 and of Walden Court, Canterbury, also pleaded guilty to causing GBH with intent and possessing a bladed article.

Whittington has 11 previous convictions for 25 offences, including ones for battery, assault, affray and attempted robbery, and was subject to post-release supervision at the time He, was jailed for seven-and-half years and Harmsworth who has four previous convictions, including one for assaulting an autistic teenager, was jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Michael Price

A drunk shopper who hit an Iceland security guard in the face with a packet of chicken nuggets has been slapped with a spell behind bars.

Michael Price became verbally abusive and aggressive with staff at the store in College Square, Margate, when they refused to sell him alcohol due to his intoxicated state.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the 39-year-old, having retorted he would "take it one way or another", then walked out with his shopping, but on being challenged outside, he reacted angrily by throwing not only the Chicken Bites product, but also several punches and a glass bottle which hit a wall and smashed.

Even the arrival of police and being handcuffed did not deter Price as he attempted to bite one constable before sinking his teeth into the hand of another and the court heard his aggression continued once in custody when, having warned officers in his cell he would fight them, he grabbed a sergeant around the head and began to gouge her eyeballs.

They fell to the floor where his grip was only released after the officer punched him several times and colleagues had intervened and Price, whose 54 previous convictions include several for violence against emergency workers, later pleaded guilty to five assault charges, all committed on January 18 this year.

At his sentencing hearing prosecutor Pamela Muniya said the custody sergeant had been attacked after being concerned for Price’s welfare and attempting to help him, but Simon Ralph, defending, said the long-term alcoholic had little recollection beyond "going into the shop and everything going wrong".

Price, who lives in Luton, Bedfordshire, was visiting a friend in the town that day and, having received his benefits, spent the money on alcohol, but after drinking for some time, he attended the shop.

During the hearing Price, who appeared via prison video link, could be heard remarking that a cut to the sergeant's knuckle resulted from him [Price] being punched, the defendant also claimed to have suffered two black eyes in the melee and Price was locked up for 12 months for the offences.

To read more of our in depth coverage of all of the major trials coming out of crown and magistrates' courts across the county, click here.

To see who was locked up in April, click here.

Darrell McArdle

A serial domestic abuser was jailed after strangling, punching and even forcing out a tooth from one of his victims.

Darrell McArdle, from Swanley, had been in relationships with two women but subjected them both to physical and psychological abuse.

McArdle started seeing one of the victims in February 2020 and by June sought to control every aspect of her life when he began to insist she did not to speak to any other men or see her friends and would beat her if she wore clothing he deemed inappropriate.

McArdle also forced her to erase any social media accounts she had and threatened to harm her family if she ever left him, and in June 2021, the victim was assaulted at a property in Gravesend, where McArdle repeatedly punched her in the head, but when she began to cry he continued to torment her and even forced a tooth from her mouth.

McArdle assaulted the second victim on November 21 last year, when he twice entered the Maidstone home of a former partner and punched her in the face several times, during an ordeal which also saw the victim pinned to a sofa and strangled.

The 24-year-old, from The Orchard, Swanley, was arrested in the following weeks as part of a case led by the West Kent Vulnerability Investigation Team.

He appeared at Maidstone Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to charges of controlling and coercive behaviour, as well as two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

McArdle was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and was also made the subject of a five-year restraining order, relating to the one of the victims.

Terry Green

A roofer who preyed on vulnerable customers before ripping them off was jailed.

Terry Green gained his victims’ trust by quoting reasonable prices for jobs.

But the 27-year-old would then tell them further and more expensive work was required. Kent Police became aware of Green's offending in April 2022 when a resident of Westgate, Thanet, paid him £1,650 for repairs that were then not completed.

The victim told officers she had agreed to the work after originally being quoted £45 to replace a roof tile, she then transferred the larger sum as a deposit for further repairs.

However, Green left the property after being informed she wanted a second opinion. Two months later, Green revisited the home of an elderly couple in Sandwich who he had previously carried out work for.

He asked them if they needed their damaged chimney repairing and after quoting the pair £350, he later told them their entire roof needed fixing at a cost of £20,000.

Despite a price of about £7,000 being agreed, the couple ended up paying a total of £3,090 after their bank grew suspicious and stopped any further transactions.

Green, of Mansion Lane in Iver, Buckinghamshire, was arrested in Minster, Thanet, in June 2022, and was charged with two counts of fraud and admitted both offences at Maidstone Crown Court where he was jailed for six years, a further nine offences were also ordered to lie on file.

Clive Tilley

A prolific shoplifter banned from all Kent Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Tesco stores was jailed after stealing £400 worth of goods.

Clive Tilley, has been sent to prison for a year after items including meat, confectionery, alcohol and cleaning products were stolen from Tesco in Sturdee Avenue and the Co-op in Canterbury Street in Gillingham.

Tilley was issued with a criminal behaviour order at Medway Magistrates’ Court on July 27, last year which prohibited him from entering any Co-op, Sainsbury’s or Tesco in the county.

Between Monday, April 29, and Friday, May 3, Tilley breached the conditions of the order while committing several shoplifting offences at the two separate stores.

The value of the property taken was estimated to be around £400 and on Friday, May 3, he was arrested by neighbourhood officers in the town centre.

Tilley, of no fixed address, was charged with seven thefts and seven breaches of the criminal behaviour order.

The 41-year-old pleaded guilty at his first hearing before Medway Magistrates’ Court and was immediately jailed for a year.

Inspector Mick Hayes, of the Medway Community Safety Unit, said: “We are continuing our focus on retail crime as can be seen by the imprisonment of another prolific shoplifter.”

Amie Willsea and Jason Fox

A couple who committed depraved offences related to child sexual abuse have been jailed.

Amie Willsea, from Dover, and Jason Fox, from Deal, were told they had engaged in "shocking and repeated" acts from which they both, despite their assertions, gained sexual gratification.

A judge said Willsea was an "active and willing participant" and Fox a "predatory paedophile,” and Canterbury Crown Court heard the pair's warped behaviour came to light after Fox, 42, showed an explicit video of 40-year-old Willsea to a third party, who then alerted Kent Police.

The pair were arrested and analysis of their phones revealed numerous chats, videos and images depicting "utterly and highly concerning" child abuse, said prosecutor Ben Irwin with some of the deviant footage, the detail of which is too graphic for KentOnline to reveal, had been recorded by Willsea and then shared with Fox.

She later claimed when interviewed by police that it was "all fantasy" before adding she had no "sexual motivation for her conduct" and alleging she had been "manipulated and controlled" by her co-accused, however, although Fox accepted he had encouraged Willsea, he denied any force or coercion was used.

Police also found 377 indecent images downloaded onto his phone and these included both stills and moving footage depicting child abuse across all categories of seriousness, including rape, and Willsea, of Auden Way, admitted two child-related sexual activity offences and one of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

Fox, who was living in Devon at the time but now has an address in Brenchley Avenue, pleaded guilty to two offences of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and three of making indecent photographs.

Fox was handed an eight-year extended sentence comprising five years' imprisonment with an additional three years to any licence period, while Willsea was jailed for four years and both were made subject to indefinite sexual harm prevention orders and sex offender notification requirements.

Janiel Verainer

A convicted paedophile who claims to identify as a little girl was jailed for having a secret phone found in what was described as a "Hello Kitty" bedroom.

The device was one of two linked to Janiel Verainer discovered by police during a routine but unannounced "offender management" check in November last year.

A jury heard neither had been disclosed to officers as the 63-year-old was required to do so under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) imposed by Canterbury Crown Court in 2016 and although their usage was limited to legal, adult-related content via Facebook messenger, WhatsApp and eBay, the sex offender fell foul of the SHPO as it prohibited him from owning or using internet-enabled devices that were not registered with police.

Verainer, of High Street, Chatham, had denied seven breaches of the SHPO between November 8, 2022, and November 8, 2023, but changed those pleas to guilty during a trial at Maidstone Crown Court and during the two-day hearing the paedophile asked to be referred to as 'Ms' and by the pronouns 'she/her', and sat in the dock thumb-sucking, with long hair in bunches and wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with pictures of kids' ABC building blocks as well as the words “I am mentally 3-7 years”.

But the court heard Verainer, whose previous convictions include sexual assault of a child and possessing indecent images, has no underlying mental health disorder, learning difficulty or brain injury and futhermore, a psychiatric report concluded that despite an expressed desire to be diagnosed as an "adult-child" or with "adult-child syndrome", no such medical condition existed and was, the expert stated, "perhaps a life choice or a manifestation of extremely poor coping skills".

At the time the undisclosed phone was found in the bedroom at a property in Rochester, Verainer was also subject to a suspended sentence for a previous breach of the same SHPO.

Verainer, who has also used the name Jorven Seren in the past, was also previously handed a seven-month jail term suspended for 18 months in April 2022 after he flouted other conditions of the same SHPO and kissed two children, during those legal proceedings, the sex offender made headlines by appearing in the dock dressed as an elf.

Jailing Verainer was jailed for a total of 16 months and a further SHPO breach charge and an offence of failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements were left on the court file.

Pearl Chapman

An addict who struck a woman in the head with a knife and left her with “permanent scarring” in a row over drugs was locked up.

Pearl Chapman left her victim Abigail Dearlove with a wound to her scalp and blood "coating" her face following the attack in Maidstone on October 13 last year.

Chapman, who has 35 previous convictions for 60 offences, had gone to a flat in Station Road in the town, where she was said to have acted in "excessive self-defence" as a result of being threatened herself.

The 40-year-old, who tested positive for heroin following her arrest, later admitted wounding, and appeared at Maidstone Crown Court for sentencing.

She had originally been charged with wounding with intent but the prosecution offered no evidence following her guilty plea to the lesser offence. The court heard it was accepted by the Crown that Chapman had not taken the knife herself to the property but picked it up off the floor during a dispute with the victim.

However, it was said she had used the weapon more than once, causing minor wounds as well as the 5cm cut to the head which needed stitching and has left permanent scarring. At the time of the attack, Chapman, of Snowdrop Close, Chelmsford, was subject to an eight-week suspended sentence for shoplifting, and had been previously jailed in February last year for possessing a knife.

Despite her lengthy criminal record, none of Chapman's previous convictions were said to be violence-related or for drug-dealing.

Jailing her for 96 weeks, Recorder James Lofthouse said although the basis of plea was accepted by the prosecution, he had viewed it with "some scepticism" as it was "far removed" from the victim's account to police of what happened.

Darren Carvill

A serial conman who once swindled his bosses out of £260,000 to blow on drugs and escort parties is back behind bars for defrauding two more employers after changing his name by deed poll.

Accountant Darren Carvill was jailed for two-and-a-half years in 2019 after stealing from national car servicing company Mr Clutch while based at its head office in Strood.

The crooked worker transferred a total of £262,234 from multiple franchises which he disguised as payments to genuine suppliers and traders. Much of the money was taken in just two days and spent in what his lawyer later described as "a weekend of madness".

However, following his release from prison and having changed his surname to Medhurst, the 43-year-old landed a job in June 2021 as a finance assistant with a Sevenoaks-based travel agency. Having not declared his name change, the fraudster went on to pilfer £76,754 from 360 Travel Ltd in the space of three weeks in July and August 2022, paying the money into his own bank accounts, including one in Hong Kong.

Then, having been challenged by the firm, questioned by police and released under investigation, Medhurst took up a new job at the Holiday Inn in Rochester, where in April last year he brazenly helped himself to a further £13,000 on the very day he was due to meet with management over their discovery of his criminal past.

None of the money, which was taken to "make himself feel better", has ever been recovered, Maidstone Crown Court heard during his latest sentencing hearing for two offences of fraud by abuse of position and one of theft.

Medhurst, who has since been working for restaurant chain Toby Carvery, later pleaded guilty to all three offences. The court heard he had 57 previous crimes to his name, with 52 of them for fraud or fraud-related and as well as his conviction in 2019 for a total of 18 frauds, he had been handed a suspended sentence 11 years earlier for 34 offences of similar dishonesty.

Jailing Medhurst for three years, Judge Julian Smith said although his frauds lacked "sophistication and meticulous planning", they demonstrated "a lot of determination" and "breath-taking dishonesty".

Muraad Musse

A man who robbed a Bluewater store of a phone worth almost £1,600 was jailed.

Muraad Musse was captured on camera stealing from the Apple branch at the Greenhithe shopping mall on November 25 last year.

Having approached a member of staff from behind, the 24-year-old grabbed him and pushed him to the floor before nabbing the £1,599 device and fleeing the shop.

The CCTV images were then used to identify Musse, who had been handed a suspended 12-week jail term just a few weeks earlier for stealing from another Apple store in Manchester.

Musse, of Tilson Gardens, Brixton, was arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to robbery and he also admitted breaching his suspended sentence order when he appeared at Maidstone Crown Court. He was jailed by Recorder James Lofthouse for a total of 94 weeks.

Investigating officer, DC Alex Burgham, said: “Musse and his partner-in-crime travelled into Kent with the sole purpose of stealing a valuable phone. This was accomplished by distracting a shop worker before assaulting them.

“A prompt investigation led to his identification and Musse was tracked down to an address in London.

“He was already serving a suspended sentence for a similar offence and a period of time in prison was the only possible conclusion.”

Samuel Anifaloba

A sex offender was locked up for nearly 20 years after subjecting two children to “vile abuse”.

Samuel Anifaloba sexually abused the children separately at an address in Rainham between 2004 and 2006.

The offences were reported to police on April 30, 2018, and he was arrested on June 25 of the same year.

Anifaloba, of no fixed address, was charged with rape and six other sexual offences and stood trial over the matters at Maidstone Crown Court.

He was found guilty of all the offences.

The 49-year-old was jailed for 17 years at the same court.

His Honour Judge Branston described Anifaloba as a “selfish and self-centred man” and added him to the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Anifaloba will also be subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Aaron Little and Jonathan Fullick

A drugs supply chain was dismantled after officers seized footage of a dealer weighing cocaine and bragging he would stab someone in the eye.

The video evidence helped convict Aaron Little, from Paddock Wood and Jonathan Fullick, from Tunbridge Wells, who ran a criminal network known as the Jay Line.

During a police investigation several mobile devices were seized and found to contain bulk marketing messages sent into communities including Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, and Malling.

Video files were also recovered showing Little struggling to operate scales to weigh cocaine and making threats to harm an associate.

Officers also retrieved voicemails from the phones, which provided further evidence of arranged drug deals and included a message from Little referring to Fullick as a Peaky Blinder, a reference to the hit TV series about a family of drug dealers.

Fullick, 23 of Dumbrell Drive, Paddock Wood, and Little, 32, of Garden Road, Tunbridge Wells, pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

Fullick also admitted a charge of possessing criminal property, relating to £465 seized when he was arrested and had both also been charged with being concerned in the supply of cannabis, but this was ordered by the court to lie on file.

Fullick was sentenced to four years and eight months’ imprisonment and this included the activation of a previous suspended sentence while Little was jailed for three years and two months

Jamie Hopkins and Adam Roberts

Prolific shoplifters who stole meat, laundry products and cigarettes from several Co-op stores while banned were jailed.

Jamie Hopkins and Adam Roberts pleaded guilty to the month-long spree of thefts at Maidstone Crown Court.

In October, the pair were both subject to criminal behaviour orders banning them from entering several retail outlets including any Co-op store.

But that didn’t stop Hopkins, of Browning Road, Dartford, who attempted to steal boxes of cigarettes from behind the counter at the Co-op in Talbot Lane, Swanscombe, where he was challenged by a shop worker before leaving the scene on October 19.

Three days later, he and Roberts, of no fixed address, stole a quantity of meat and laundry products from the same premises, then on October 27, two bottles of spirits were stolen by Roberts from behind the counter at the same supermarket chain’s branch in Oldfield Place, in Dartford.

On the following day, both men were arrested after they were seen by a police officer entering the Co-op in Castle Hill, Ebbsfleet and were charged by investigators from the North Kent Victim Based Crime Team with one count of theft and three breaches of their criminal behaviour orders.

Meanwhile, Roberts, 36, was also charged with burglary at the Co-op in Oldfield Place, Dartford and Hopkins, 39, with a count of burglary at the Co-op in Talbot Lane, Swanscombe.

On October 30, both pleaded guilty at Medway Magistrates’ Court and were remanded in custody and earlier this month at Maidstone Crown Court, Hopkins and Roberts were both jailed for 10 months.

Sean McFetridge

A burglar who pretended he had wanted a glass of water when instead he had stolen multiple items from a home was jailed.

Sean McFetridge had gone into the house in East Farleigh, near Maidstone, after seeing the door was open.

The 41-year-old was confronted by an occupant who had been upstairs but said he was looking for a glass of water as he was thirsty, however, they soon found a laptop computer had been stolen along with jewellery and keys.

Police were contacted and Kent Crime Squad officers recovered McFetridge’s fingerprints from a socket the laptop had been plugged into whilst charging.

He was arrested on September 7 last year, three days after the raid and was charged.

McFetridge, of Lasius Drive, Coxheath, admitted burglary and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment at Maidstone Crown Court and this included the activation of a suspended sentence.

Investigating officer, DC Josh Littley, said: “Burglary is a despicable crime that leaves victims feeling violated and unsafe in their own home.

“This offender thought nothing of the impact of his crime and cared only about making a quick profit from stealing portable items and a prompt investigation and forensic examination ensured this man was arrested within a few days and is now starting a prison sentence.”

Anthony Jarrett

A 58-year-old man who pleaded guilty to multiple sexual offences against a young child was jailed.

Anthony Jarrett was sentenced to four charges relating to various sexual assaults of a child under 13 at court on Friday, May 17.

The abuse, which took place over a three-year period in South Lincolnshire, relates to a single victim.

He told his victim not to tell anyone, was overly friendly and nice to them, and insisted that if they revealed what was going on it would have a devastating effect on his life.

Jarrett, of Maple Close, Larkfield, was jailed for almost 11 years at Lincoln Crown Court.

Thanks to the work of investigators and the bravery of the victim, Jarrett pleaded guilty to all charges.

The impact statement read out in court from the victim and their family spelt out the devastating impact Jarrett had on their lives.

Jarrett was placed on the sex offenders’ register, made subject to a sexual harm prevention order, and was given a restraining order against the victim.

Robert Reading and Mojtab Moradi

A Medway man caught with a “deadly weapon” in his loft was jailed after his involvement in a gun exchange.

Robert Reading, from Wouldham and Mojtab Moradi, from Plumstead, south east London, were investigated by officers after a pistol was found wrapped in a tea towel in a minicab.

Moradi, 37, was travelling in the vehicle when he was stopped by police in Day’s Lane, Sidcup, in September 2022 with assistance from Met Police firearms officers.

Prior to this, Moradi was seen walking from an alleyway near an Indian restaurant on Maidstone Road carrying several large bags, including a Primark one, which he put in the boot and when officers searched the vehicle and found a converted blank-firing .22inch calibre Rimfire double-barrelled Derringer Pistol, wrapped in a tea towel, and eight rounds of ammunition in a toiletry-type bag in the Primark carrier.

DNA evidence proved that Reading, 50, had supplied the pistol to him and his vehicle was also seen in the same area before Moradi’s arrest and he was also carrying 16 wraps of crack cocaine in his pockets and as he was arrested, two burner-style Nokia mobile phones fell from the side of the car where he had been sitting.

On the same day, officers raided Reading’s home in Castle Street, Wouldham, where they seized a Birmingham single barrel sawn-off shotgun in the loft.

Moradi pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and two counts of possession of class A drugs (cocaine) at Woolwich Crown Court and Reading admitted two counts of possession of a firearm at Maidstone Crown Court.

Moradi was sentenced to five years imprisonment at Inner London Crown Court and Reading to six-and-a-half years imprisonment.

Dwaine Boakye

A stalker taunted the teenage sister of a murdered boy by sending her "depraved and grossly violent" messages and images about her brother’s death.

Dwaine Boakye was said to "relish power and control" in his sickening month-long campaign against Deal schoolgirl Chloe Bednar, whose brother Breck was killed by Lewis Daynes in 2014 after being groomed through online gaming.

In what Canterbury Crown Court heard was a "particularly disturbing" turn of events in early 2019, Boakye contacted Chloe, then 17, by adopting various social media personas, including Snapchat accounts set up in both her brother's name and that of his murderer.

Five years earlier Breck had been lured by Daynes to his flat and was murdered in a cruel act said to have been “driven by sadistic or sexual motivation”, but the court heard Boakye did not know Chloe or have any known association with Breck's murder or anyone involved in the case.

But prosecutor Martin Yale told the court he carried out extensive research on the gruesome case as well as the family in his persistent efforts to maximise fear or distress and legal issues with US-based Snapchat co-operating with Kent Police meant it took months for Boakye to be identified as the stalker.

Some of his messages indicated "detailed knowledge" of the investigation and included information that had not been reported or was not known by Chloe, and freelance hairdresser Boakye, then aged 19, first made contact with the teenager in January 2019, sending her a picture of herself with her brother that had been taken a few years before his death and he captioned it "I'll be home soon" and another photo of Breck was accompanied by the words "Let's see his body then".

Chloe also received a Google image of a skeleton with "RIP Breck" written across it and dozens more messages followed, with graphic, sexual references to the murder itself and threats were also made against the Bednar family and to desecrate the young boy's grave.

Boakye, who is now 25, was charged later pleaded guilty to stalking and two offences of sending a malicious communication and he locked up for three-and-a-half years and was also handed a 15-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting Chloe and her parents.

Samuel Neculai

A jewellery thief who posed as a customer in an attempt to steal a gold bracelet worth £1,225 was jailed.

Samuel Neculai, of Cobham Street, Gravesend, went into a shop in Rochester High Street at around 11am on February 22.

The 21-year-old had asked to look at the bracelet which was displayed behind a glass window and an employee gave it to Samuel to inspect, but moments later, he attempted to flee but his getaway was promptly stopped after one shop worker blocked his exit, and another locked the door.

The two employees succeeded in taking the bracelet from the thief, who had pulled off the door handle as he tried to escape and fearing their safety, the women allowed Samuel to leave the shop.

During the police investigation, a forensic examination of the shop door recovered the offender’s fingerprints and on March 15, he was arrested and charged with attempted robbery and criminal damage.

He appeared at Maidstone Crown Court where he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison, as well as being ordered to pay a victim surcharge.

Investigating officer PC Elli Langford said: “Neculai targeted a high-value item of jewellery but was foiled by the quick-thinking actions of those working at the business and not only did he leave the shop empty-handed but he incriminated himself by leaving his fingerprints behind.

“This was a shocking incident for the employees who feared they would be harmed during the incident, so I hope that the sentence offers them some reassurance and acts as a deterrent to other would-be criminals.”

Lawrence Cole and Will Crump

A "vulnerable" man had his flat set on fire after his neighbour and an accomplice subjected him to a vicious beating with a baseball bat.

Thugs William Crump and Lawrence Cole targeted their victim knowing he had received his benefits money.

Canterbury Crown Court heard they repeatedly hit the man, described as a "weak and frightened individual", before taking £500 from a drawer and igniting the curtains and at one point in the assault Crump, 35, who lived in the same multiple occupancy building, had even feared that his neighbour would be killed by 35-year-old Cole.

But the cowardly pair fled, leaving their injured victim in his smoke-filled room at the property in Frencham Close, Canterbury, and he was later taken to hospital with a suspected eye socket fracture and a laceration to his eyebrow.

Police found Cole sitting in his van, smelling of alcohol and uncooperative and Crump was arrested on his way to a probation appointment and the two men, said by a judge to have "long and distinctively unattractive" criminal records with more than 100 offences between them, later admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Cole, of The Avenue in Hersden, also pleaded guilty to driving without a licence and without insurance, failing to provide a specimen and failing to attend court for an earlier hearing and 29 previous convictions for 66 offences include eight for violence, as well as burglary, criminal damage and threatening behaviour and was also subject to a community order for offences of battery and assaults on emergency workers when the baseball bat attack occurred.

Crump told police after his arrest that he had seen the blaze but was not involved and the court heard he has 14 previous convictions for 42 offences, including two for violence, as well as burglary and criminal damage.

Jailing Crump for 25 months and Cole for 23 months, Judge Mark Weekes said that having carried out the assault and taken the victim's money, the fire was started with "intent to intimidate", and Cole was also banned from driving or applying for a licence for two-and-a-half years.

Odyssius Ojo

A county lines drug dealer who was caught with a knife disguised as a keyring fob was jailed.

Odyssius Ojo first came to the attention of the police while officers were investigating a specific phone, known as the ‘MB Line’, being used to supply class-A substances across Medway.

While seeking to identify the device’s owner, officers arrested Odyssius Ojo in Snodland on January 23 for a separate matter.

He was searched and found to be in possession of the ‘MB line’ mobile phone and a knife, disguised as a keyring fob.

In interviews, he initially denied any knowledge of the communication device but later agreed he had used it to send messages offering drugs.

Ojo, of no fixed address, was later charged with being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine between December 12, 2023, and January 23, 2024, being concerned in the supply of heroin over the same period, and possession of an offensive weapon in a private place.

He pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and the 22-year-old was sentenced to two years and nine months’ imprisonment.

Investigating Officer, PC Oliver Matcham, said: “Ojo had a key position in this drug supply network and as such a prison sentence was the only option and, should he reoffend on his release, he will face a significant jail term.”

Rivaldo Toma and Elson Gjoka

Bungling burglars were put behind bars after photos they took of themselves with a hoard of stolen goods led to their arrest.

Officers began investigating after residents in Cedarview, Canterbury, returned home to find two men in their house.

The duo fled the property but one victim managed to film them getting into a red Peugeot nearby and the car was found to be using cloned plates, making it difficult to track but an investigating officer found a similar one for sale online with a fake seller's name of 'Leo Messi'.

Police saw the vehicle travelling on the M20 near Maidstone three days after the break-in and it was stopped and the driver, Rivaldo Toma, was arrested and

Further inquiries led to police suspecting the second man to be Elson Gjoka, whose home had previously been visited by officers for an unrelated matter.

Detectives investigating the burglaries on 6 October 2023 viewed the body-worn camera footage filmed in his flat and matched furniture, flooring and curtains to those seen in the background of the stolen goods photos on Toma's phone and a warrant was carried out at the Maidstone flat and officers found watches, jewellery, tools used in break-ins, cash, a receipt from a pawnbroker and a registration document for the Peugeot.

The evidence not only linked the two men to the offence in Canterbury, but also nine other similar burglaries in Sittingbourne, Chatham, Ashford, Tonbridge and Berkshire, all of which took place in September and October 2023.

The pair were charged with multiple counts of burglary, which they later admitted at Canterbury Crown Court and Gjoka, 31, of Station Road, Maidstone, was jailed for three years and two months and Toma, 24, of no fixed address, was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Barry Connaughton

A woman was knocked out by a man after a fight in a high street pub.

Zoe Jennings was enjoying a night out after seeing a Tina Turner show in November when she was punched by a stranger.

The 42-year-old from Rochester said: “My friend and I went into the Jolly Caulkers pub in Chatham High Street after our show finished at the Central Theatre.

“I don't remember exactly what happened, it's all a bit confusing, but there was a bit of a scuffle and I was punched in the face, knocking me out and breaking my nose.”

Barry Connaughton, of Chatham, appeared at Maidstone Crown Court where he was sentenced to 26 months in prison for two counts of grievous bodily harm.

The second charge relates to another incident involving a man in a pub earlier that evening and Zoe suffered a cerebrospinal fluid leak - which is caused by a break in the barrier between the brain and roof of the sinuses - around her nose.

CCTV footage revealed Zoe was knocked out for seven minutes before she was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital where police interviewed her.

She is currently volunteering to help build her confidence after the incident affected her mentally too.

Juraj Kozar

A driver who ploughed into a car at 93mph and fled after severely injuring two people was arrested in Kent while trying to leave the country.

Two people suffered life-changing injuries following the collision in Wolverhampton on February 16.

Juraj Kozar was driving a blue Suzuki SX4 while three times the speed limit in a 30mph zone when he hit a VW Polo and despite his 17-year-old passenger being seriously hurt, Kozar then ran from the scene.

An alert was put out for his arrest and two days later he was located aboard a ferry in Dover, bound for across the Channel, however, the ship had already set sail but returned to port for the 29-year-old to be taken into custody.

A woman in her 60s, who was travelling in the other Polo, was also seriously injured and underwent life-saving surgery in hospital and both victims’ injuries have had life-changing implications, and they are continuing lengthy recoveries.

Kozar, of Warsash Close admitted two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop after a collision and driving without a licence or insurance.

He was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to four years in prison and was disqualified from driving for seven years.

The criminal will be required to sit an extended retest before being able to get behind the wheel again.

Melchi Emanuel-Williamson

Police dismantled a gang made up of semi-professional footballers who plotted to supply cocaine with an estimated street value of £260 million.

Among the six was a former player for Margate FC, Melchi Emanuel-Williamson, who was jailed along with his accomplices for a combined 100 years for their part in the conspiracy.

All had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to conspiracy to supply controlled class A drugs (cocaine) and conspiracy to supply controlled class B drugs (ketamine).

The investigation was by the Metropolitan Police and PC Perry, from Specialist Crime North, said: “This is a criminal group who had otherwise promising careers – semi-pro footballers with other jobs and courses they were undertaking, but they were motivated by making money from drugs that fuel misery and violence on our streets.

“The operation we’ve dismantled here is not some minor undertaking, involving a group of chancers – this is a highly organised criminal group who were supplying drugs on an industrial scale throughout the UK.”

Melchi Emanuel-Williamson, 29, of Wesley Avenue, North Acton, London, who had played for Margate twice in the 2013/14 season with one appearance as a substitute, was jailed for 14 years while the other five in the gang, mostly Londoners, ended up with jail sentences of 13 to 24 years