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Today a violent ex-offender who killed a 55-year-old man while resident at a town centre probation hostel has been jailed.
With justice now done for the loved ones of victim Jason Orwin, reporter Rhys Griffiths explores the case and the controversial accommodation of convicted criminals at Fleming House in Maidstone...
A keen golfer and fan of a visit to the pub, Jason Orwin was engaged to be married last August.
But, tragically, the wedding was not to be. The business development manager died after being attacked outside his home in Maidstone on the last day of July.
Airlifted to King's College Hospital in London following the incident in Bower Place, he later died as a result of a bleed on the brain sustained during the attack.
This afternoon his killer, 37-year-old Lance Colston, appeared at Maidstone Crown Court and was jailed for seven years and five months for the manslaughter of the 55-year-old - a crime committed while he was resident at the Fleming House probation hostel, just yards from where Mr Orwin was attacked.
At around 6.40pm on July 31, Mr Orwin was in Bower Place with a friend, when they noticed two men across the road who appeared to be behaving in a drunken manner.
Mr Orwin’s partner was nearby and, concerned for her safety, he warned her to be wary of the pair. One of the men, Colston, overheard this exchange and crossed the road to confront Mr Orwin. Mr Orwin’s friend tried to shield him but Colston managed to punch the victim to the side of his head and he fell unconscious to the ground. As he fell he hit his head on the back window.
Colston went on to assault Mr Orwin’s friend, striking him with a milk bottle. He also tried to punch the victim’s father who had arrived at the scene, before leaving the area with his associate.
Family members, including Mr Orwin's son, gave the victim medical attention until the arrival of paramedics and he was conveyed to a London hospital.
Mr Orwin had suffered a serious head injury and died in hospital on 1 August.
He suffered an artery tear, after the punch led to a "sudden massively unexpected violent swinging of the head and neck."
Jonathan Polnay, prosecuting, revealed that CCTV showed that after Colston left the scene, he reenacted the events through punches.
The court heard of the devastation felt to Mr Orwin's loved ones after his death.
In a victim impact statement, fiancee said: " Several months after I feel broken, anxious, numb, angry and deeply sad.
"We were meant to be getting married on August 15 but delayed because of lockdown.
"Jason was the love of my life, I miss him so much."
Mr Orwin's killing is just the latest in a line of incidents to draw attention to the presence of the Tonbridge Road hostel - known officially as an 'approved premises' - and the ex-offenders who reside there.
Earlier this month a convicted murderer who spent 32 years in prison was jailed again for stalking woman while resident at Fleming House.
Kevin Downing is now back behind bars for four months after being convicted of stalking and was recalled to prison for breaching his licence.
The 57-year-old was jailed in 1988 at the age of 25 for abducting, raping and murdering 17-year-old Amanda Hopkinson in Dartford.
Meanwhile, last year a convicted kidnapper and sex attacker - who was free because he had been released early from an eight-year extended sentence - was jailed once more for an attempted robbery committed while a resident at the hostel.
Christopher Hatcher pounced on 19-year-old Lois Moore in Bower Place - the same street where Mr Orwin was attacked - and tried to snatch her phone. She was able to fight him off by hitting him in the groin.
The would-be robber was living at Fleming House, and had been subject to a 9pm curfew, when the attempted robbery took place close to midnight in March 2019.
Hatcher had been released on licence after he had served time for stalking a woman along the Royal Military Canal in Hythe at before taking out a knife and frogmarching her to a secluded area where he threatened to kill her unless she undressed.
These high-profile cases may have hit the headlines, but for people living in the neighbourhood around the hostel they represent the tip of the iceberg in terms of their fears about the potential criminality associated with the accommodation.
Figures obtained from Kent Police under the Freedom of Information Act reveal they receive reports of crimes committed by residents at Fleming House at a rate of more than one a month.
In the 30 months from September 2018 to February 2021 inclusive, there were 40 crimes recorded as committed by people living at the hostel - ranging from theft and harassment through to actual bodily harm and sexual assault.
'I don't feel comfortable walking around my area come nightfall...'
And where Hatcher and Downing have since been convicted and returned to prison, in only 17 of the 40 cases was a charge ever brought.
We asked the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) - on whose behalf approved premises are operated by the National Probation Service - about the conditions on which ex-offenders are housed in properties such as Fleming House.
A spokesman told us people housed there require an enhanced level of support to help them reintegrate with society after leaving prison.
All approved premises are staffed 24/7, with Fleming House currently being run by 16 members of staff.
Ex-offenders housed there are subject to a curfew and mandatory drug tests, and some residents may also be tracked with an electronic tag if stipulated in their licence conditions upon release.
Despite the measures put in place, people living nearby to the Maidstone hostel reacted with horror when last year plans were raised by the MoJ to expand the capacity of the site to be able to house even more convicted criminals.
The proposals, revealed just weeks after Mr Orwin was attacked, outlined plans to increase the capacity of the hostel from 31 ex-offenders to 42.
There was immediate opposition from people living nearby, with one local mother telling Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) how the centre made her uneasy about the safety of her and her son.
"I don't feel comfortable walking around my area come nightfall, obviously this gets a lot earlier come the winter months," she wrote in her statement opposing the plans.
"If you have any consideration for the residents and businesses of this area you will not look to expand this facility. It should be shut down and relocated to a more rural and secluded area, if it is rehabilitation you are offering."
Around 50 neighbour comments in opposition to the plans were received by MBC, with people living nearby referring to people loitering in the area at night and people opening taking drugs.
Cllr Jonathan Purle, who was a vocal critic of the proposed extension, said at the time: "It's been a short but vigorous campaign so far and I'm pleased to say that it's the first round to us. But we'll have to see whether they choose to come back for more.
"It cannot be right that of all the places in Kent, it's people in our part of Maidstone who have to put up with the nuisance and crime emanating from this place.
"It has to be obvious that if you take high-risk offenders from across the region and release them here, without adequate supervision, there is going to be trouble for local people."
It was not just residents and local ward councillors who expressed alarm at the potential expansion of the hostel - even Kent Police raised objections.
The force's Designing Out Crime Officer referred MBC to planning policy which states all decisions must ensure "crime and disorder, and the fear of crime, do not undermine the quality of life or community cohesion".
They also pointed out that although the planning, design and access statement submitted by the MoJ referred to the design within the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), it did not specifically mention how planning policies and decisions "should aim to achieve healthy, inclusive and safe places" which do not undermine quality of life or community cohesion.
Not long after the plans were revealed, the MoJ decided to withdrawn the proposal for expansion. This week a spokesman for the department confirmed there are currently no plans in place to revisit the possibility of expansion.
Colston was previously jailed for headbutting his former partner before punching and kicking her in an attack which left her with injuries described as "nothing short of horrific" by a judge.
He attacked the terrified Folkestone mum as her four children were asleep in bed at their home.
Even as he was led away to start a five-year jail term in July 2018 for the Folkestone assault, the unrepentant mechanic turned to where his victim was sitting in the public gallery, smiled and touched his heart.
He was later released on probation, and a condition of that licence was that he was to live at Fleming House in Maidstone.
Colston was initially accused of murdering Mr Orwin - a charge which he denied - but last year his legal representative entered guilty pleas on his behalf to one count of manslaughter and another of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Cllr Purle, who knew Mr Orwin and described him as a lively character, said: "He had plenty of stories to tell and was also a keen golfer. I remember meeting him once on his way to the pub still carrying his golf clubs.
"I did hear however that his garden-based golf practice was not universally welcomed by his neighbours."
Mr Orwin’s mother, a neighbour of the Fleming Road facility, was one of those who last year expressed their opposition to the local of the hostel.
She said: "It is a national disgrace that these offenders are mixing with our children. There is a primary school at the end of Bower Lane."
According to the Probation Service, emergency services are regularly called to the town centre hostel, which houses violent and sexual offenders.
Although no detailed data has been released, documents submitted in support of the now-withdrawn plans to extend Fleming House revealed that emergency services are called to the site "less than once a fortnight".
The main reason emergency services would be called is to support with the recall of residents to prison.
Sentencing Colston earlier, His Honour Judge David Griffith-Jones QC said: "All those close to Mr Orwin now face a life without him, their pain and suffering has been extreme and will inevitably continue."
He added the harsh reality was that no sentence "could provide any sort of compensation to the devastation in respect upon their lives. For all of this you must bear a heavy burden of responsibility."
Commenting on the sentencing, Cllr Purle said: "Lance Colston should never have been there to kill Jason. He was out on the streets because he had been released too early and he was just off Tonbridge Road because that's where the authorities chose to place him.
"I appreciate the court is bound by sentencing guidelines, but this sentence now feels totally inadequate for the taking of a life and the devastation that he has caused."
Following today's sentencing, which also saw Colston given six months for assault occasioning actual bodily harm to run concurrently with the term for manslaughter, a Probation Service spokesperson said: "This is a tragic case and our thoughts remain with Mr Orwin’s family and friends.
"Fewer than 0.5% of offenders go on to be convicted of a serious crime, and every case is thoroughly investigated so improvements can be made."
Senior Investigating Officer, DCI Neil Kimber said: "Mr Orwin had concerns for his partner when he saw she might pass close to the two men across the road, but Colston reacted with an entirely unprovoked and ferocious attack.
"He acted in an appalling manner and continued to assault others even after Mr Orwin had fallen to the ground. Colston showed no concern for the welfare of his victim while he was lying unconscious, and a family is now mourning their tragic loss. I would like to thank the witnesses and, in particular, members of Mr Orwin’s family who have assisted us throughout the investigation and enabled us to bring this violent individual to justice."
Additional reporting by Katie Heslop
