The criminals locked up in April

Lots of people who committed crimes were jailed this month and are now spending time behind bars. Here are just some of the criminals, including dangerous drivers, murderers, paedophiles, thieves, thugs and abusers who were locked up in April. Ibrahim Mujde ​A ​violent and abusive barber shop boss ​dragged his ex-girlfriend by her hair before retreating into a corner, crying ​and accusing her: "Look at what you made me do.

" Callous Ibrahim Mujde, from Ramsgate, even laughed when the desperate woman threw boiling water from a kettle over him in a bid to stop his onslaught of threats and intimidation. Just a year earlier, the 41-year-old, who is also known as Umit, had been convicted of stalking another former partner while subject to a court order in respect of similar obsessive behaviour towards a third woman. One of those two victims predicted he would reoffend, telling KentOnline in December 2023 that she had "no doubt he will do this same thing to his future girlfriend".



Mujde appeared to be crying during his hearing at Canterbury Crown Court as details of the controlling, threatening and abusive campaign he waged over the woman were revealed to Judge Edmund Fowler who heard Mujde had a history of drug-taking and had been in a relationship with her since June, but when she told him it was over in December after he began using crystal meth, he then fasely accused her of cheating. Mujde reacted by attempting suicide, so she agreed he could stay at her flat for a while but during that time he subjected her to verbal abuse, violence and intimidation and he even took control of her phone, isolated her from friends, slapped her multiple times, pulled her hair, spat in her face and twice threatened her at knifepoint. The woman also received a number of abusive messages from him before returning home one day to find her flat had been trashed with walls blood-stained and damaged from punches, a carpet had been ripped, a sofa broken and a cabinet had been scrawled on.

Mujde, of York Street, was arrested but having been released on bail he remained undeterred and plagued his victim with a number of calls. He was re-arrested and later pleaded guilty to controlling or coercive behaviour, two offences of threatening with an offensive weapon in a private place, assault by beating, damaging property and harassment. He also admitted breaching a 12-month jail term suspended for two years which had been imposed in December 2023 at the same court and by the same judge for unrelated offences of stalking and five breaches of a five-year Stalking Protection Order.

On jailing him for a total of two years and nine months, Judge Fowler remarked that his attempt at victim-blaming for the violence he had unleashed was indicative of his criminal conduct and he also handed Mujde a five-year restraining order banning any contact with his victim or going to her address. Gheorghe-Hagi Constantin A violent burglar who “terrorised” a family in their own home as part of an armed balaclava-clad gang was jailed. Gheorghe-Hagi Constantin and several others targeted a home in Luton Road, Chatham, armed with knives and assaulted one of the occupants before stealing watches and mobile phones.

Last year, four men from the group were jailed for a combined 22 years for their part in the crime. On June 14, 2024, Ion Vasile, 22, from Maidstone, was sentenced to eight years and five months’ imprisonment, while Robert Maytum, 36, from Chatham, was jailed for seven years and two months and Denis Calin, 20, also from Chatham, was imprisoned for seven years. At the same court on August 12, Rogel Dumitru, 20, from Bexleyheath, also received seven and a half years’ imprisonment and earlier this month, Constantin, of Luton Road, Chatham, was handed an 11-year prison sentence for his part in the crime.

A police investigation showed he had taken a key role in the break-in and had been present with a machete and after the 24-year-old was charged with aggravated burglary, he was found guilty of the offence at Maidstone Crown Court which heard how during the early hours of September 8, 2023, the men went to a house near Luton Road armed with weapons, wearing gloves and with their faces obscured by masks or balaclavas. Having gained entry to the premises, they woke the occupants, assaulted one of them and demanded to know the location of their valuables and following a search, the criminals stole two watches and two mobile phones before fleeing the scene. Other offenders also said to have taken part in the burglary are still being hunted by police.

Josh Thomas A drug dealer’s illicit operation came crashing down when police discovered texts advertising the sale of illegal substances on his phone. Josh Thomas, of Downs Road, Canterbury, was stopped by police while travelling near Ashford on February 14. Officers suspected he was involved in the ‘J’ line, which was supplying heroin and cocaine across Canterbury and the 33-year-old was quickly found with a large amount of cash and a lock knife hidden in his clothing.

The cash was believed to have been obtained through drug dealing and when police searched Thomas’s property they found and seized 23g of amphetamine alongside a mobile phone and other items linked to drug dealing including scales, cling film and eight knives. The phone was linked to marketing messages advertising drugs for sale, which had been sent to people in December 2024 and January 2025 and officers later discovered the messages were likely sent while Thomas had possession of the phone. He was arrested and then charged with being concerned in supplying heroin and cocaine, having an offensive weapon and possession of amphetamine and he admitted the charges and was jailed at Canterbury Crown Court.

He received a sentence of three years and six months in prison. Investigating officer DC Holly Bayliss said: “Criminals like Josh Thomas can and should expect us to find and stop them in their tracks and bring them before the courts.” Shiam Sugarnan A “promising” university graduate was put behind bars after crashing his dad’s Range Rover into a taxi and killing the rear-seat passenger.

Shiam Sugarnan, 22, was driving on the wrong side of a dual-carriageway towards Dover when he caused the almost head-on collision at more than 50mph. Despite Sugarnan’s efforts to revive him, Martin Waters, 57, was pronounced dead at the scene in the early hours of September 2, 2022 and following his arrest, Sugarnan denied causing death by dangerous driving. But a jury at Canterbury Crown Court found him guilty in February at the end of a four-day trial, where he chose not to give evidence and at his sentencing hearing earlier this month he was jailed for three years at the same court.

At the hearing, his victim’s wife of 37 years, Gayle Waters, said she wonders how she "will ever continue life without him” and described Mr Waters as “not just my husband but my best friend”. The court heard the incident on the A2 Jubilee Way as a “fatal accident” for which Sugarnan is deeply remorseful. But Judge Simon James told the London School of Economics (LSE) graduate Mr Waters’ death was a result of “your dangerous driving”.

“Despite the fact that no one is suggesting that you deliberately set out to cause him harm, let alone kill him, it was your reckless omissions and failures that are the sole reason he is no longer with his family.” With no previous convictions, Sugarnan had held a clean driving licence for about two years but had never driven in Kent before the day of the accident. He was also disqualified from driving for five years and will not be permitted to drive thereafter until he passes an extended re-test.

Ben Gardiner A “brazen” man was jailed after admitting to handling a stolen vehicle. On July 8 last year, police were contacted after the driver of a white Range Rover was seen abandoning the car in the Hawley area. He got out of the vehicle shortly after noon that day, before leaving on a moped and the car was found to have been stolen from Higham that morning, and it was recovered and returned to its owner.

An investigation led to Ben Gardiner, from Wallis Park in Northfleet, being arrested on February 9 in connection with the theft and he was charged later the same day. The 20-year-old appeared before Woolwich Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods and he also admitted stealing items worth more than £100 from the Co-op in Longfield in September last year. Gardiner was sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay a £187 surcharge.

PC Dave Gillham said: “We take all reports of vehicle crime very seriously and will always strive to bring perpetrators before the courts. “Brazen offenders such as Gardiner need to understand this and know the consequences they will face when they are convicted.” Chung Fu Wang, Yuan Hang and Lina Wang, Footage showed the moment a brothel owner was arrested by police after trafficking women at 50 locations across the UK.

Chung Fu Wang, Yuan Hang and Lina Wang were responsible for the sexual exploitation of victims across Canterbury, Chatham, Dartford, Gillingham, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. Police body-warn footage showed the moment officers burst through Wang’s front door at her home in Bartlow Road in Cambridge on August 2021 when the 44-year-old can be heard saying “what happened?” As officers explain they are conducting a search operation, she appears to hide items behind her back. Shortly after, approximately six mobile phones can be seen on the floor of the room as the brothel owner is handcuffed and during the search of her property, bank statements were found showing she was in possession of around £430,000.

It came after some of the victims were brought into the country illegally and forced into sex work to pay off family debts with one victim said to have “no idea where she was”, while others were coerced into having sex without protection. Fu Wang was arrested the same day in London and was found to be surrounded by mobile phones, as well as being in possession of bank cards belonging to the sex workers he controlled and Yuan Hang had been arrested several months earlier when he gave himself up to police following a warrant at a flat in London he was renting. During the sentencing at Maidstone Crown Court, Wang pleaded guilty to conspiracy to control prostitution for gain and acquiring and possessing criminal property and she was jailed for five years and eight months.

Fu Wang, 41, of Blackborne Road in Dagenham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to control prostitution for gain and he was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison and Hang, 39, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to control prostitution for gain and possessing criminal property and he was jailed for five years and eight months. Terry Coleman A convicted paedophile was locked up after sending explicit videos of himself on Snapchat to a 13-year-old girl - who was, in fact, an undercover cop. Terry Coleman was branded a “dangerous pervert” by a judge after hearing how he targeted and groomed the teenager online just a few weeks after being spared jail for flouting a court order designed to protect youngsters from him.

The 60-year-old, of McKenzie Close, Royal British Legion Village, Aylesford, was told he posed a greater danger by continuing to deny having a sexual interest in children and the suggestion by his defence that he committed the offences because he had “hit rock bottom” and wanted to be arrested was quickly dismissed as “outlandish.” Coleman was first made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) in April 2021 when he was convicted of multiple offences of making and distributing child abuse images and then, in June last year, he was hauled back to court having breached that SHPO on three occasions. But, having again been spared jail and handed a community order, the depraved recovery vehicle driver was soon engaging in illicit chats, despite the fact the court order had ensured monitoring software was installed on his devices.

At Maidstone Crown Court, when one of three women supporting Coleman asked whether KentOnline could be paid not to report the sentencing hearing, details of his online grooming behaviour were revealed. The court heard the sex offender knew from the outset that the girl he was talking to on Snapchat was 13, but what he did not know was that the teenager was actually an undercover police officer and over the course of two weeks from July 17 last year and with the username Tel2903 - the day and month of Coleman’s date of birth - he engaged in conversations and picture-sending that soon became more sinister and sexually suggestive and he then told her he was performing a sex act on himself. Coleman was arrested on August 1, when it was also discovered he had a second username of Terry9981 and a smart TV, neither of which he had declared to the authorities as required by the SHPO and his sex offender notification requirements and he was also found in possession of 14g of cannabis.

In June, Coleman pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and causing a child to look at a sexual image and also admitted two SHPO breaches, two offences of failing to comply with sex offender requirements, and possessing a class B drug. At his sentencing hearing at the same court earlier this month, he was jailed six years and will be subject to indefinite sex offender notification requirements on release. Alan Vinten A predatory paedophile has at last faced justice for “appalling and terrifying” crimes he committed against a minor half a century ago.

Child rapist Alan Vinten, from Rainham, repeatedly abused his victim during the 1970s, from when she was just nine. The abuse took place over the course of a year and was first reported to police in November 2021, but because of when the crimes took place, Vinten was charged under the Sexual Offences Act 1956. These included indecent assaults and unlawful intercourse with a child and he denied any wrongdoing but was found guilty of all eight charges following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

At his sentencing hearing earlier this month, the now 78-year-old, of Otterham Quay Lane, was sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment. He will have to serve at least two-thirds of the sentence before he can apply for parole and will be subject to an additional licence period of a year. DC Laura Bowness said: “Vinten is a predatory paedophile who subjected his young and vulnerable victim to the most appalling and terrifying campaign of abuse.

“I hope this sentence also encourages others who may have suffered abuse to come forward because it is never too late to report a sexual offence. You will be believed.” Jamie Harris Jnr A baby-faced teenage thug who bottled his dad's colleague in a bust-up over Winter Wonderland told police on arrest he would “do it again”.

Apprentice plasterer Jamie Harris Jnr lashed out at his victim Aaron Saunders, stabbing him in the abdomen and armpit, outside a construction site in Folkestone. The then 18-year-old was said to be ​responding to "youthful immaturity and loyalty" when his father, Jamie Harris Snr, believed the workmate had snitched to their boss about him being "out drinking" following a​ series of messages and calls ​with the victim. He was told by Mr Saunders that all he had said was that he had been at Winter Wonderland, but on December 13, 2023, Harris Snr took his son to Shepway Close where the violent two-on-one confrontation erupted.

Harris Snr, 40, branded the builder a "fat, f***ing ****, accused him of being "a grass" and then punched him in the face, as the two men grappled with each other. The teen joined in, first smashing the bottle over Mr Saunders' head and then stabbing and slashing at him, but when fellow workmen intervened, the father and son drove off, hurling abuse out of the window as they did so. But while the pair both ended up in the dock at Canterbury Crown Court, it was only the teenager who was locked up, leaving his seemingly incredulous parent exclaiming "absolutely f***ing ridiculous" as he walked free and other family members wept.

Harris Snr, of Ethelbert Road, Folkestone, and his son, of Wood Avenue, Folkestone, initially pleaded not guilty to wounding with intent at a hearing in January last year, but Harris Jnr, who also denied possessing an offensive weapon, later admitted both charges at a further hearing in June. In January this yar, the prosecution accepted a guilty plea from Harris Snr, who has numerous previous convictions for assaulting police and criminal damage, to the alternative and less serious offence of wounding and at their sentencing hearing it was revealed that while on court bail for over a year, Harris Jnr had breached his tagged curfew condition on several occasions, and also picked up convictions for possessing cannabis and criminal damage. On deciding the appropriate punishments, Judge Edmund Fowler said Harris Snr's attitude to his offending and lack of empathy had been "challenging" on the issue of whether he could be spared custody, but acknowledging the adverse impact immediate imprisonment would have on his youngest son, he agreed he could suspend a 21-month jail term for two years.

It was not possible for Harris Jnr, however, to share the same fate, despite his personal mitigation of youth, mental health issues, lack of previous convictions and good work ethic. He was locked up for 28 months detention in a young offenders' institution and both were also handed a five-year restraining order in respect of their victim and his family. Luke Humphries A drink-driver "catastrophically ruined" a teenage girl’s life after causing a horror crash that almost killed her – then fled the scene and lied to police about being carjacked.

Plumber Luke Humphries was double the legal limit from downing four pints in a pub when his VW Scirocco careered into the path of a Ford Fiesta, catapulting it across the A256 in Deal and into oncoming traffic. The force of the impact caused the 16-year-old front-seat passenger to be flung out of her door, unconscious, with the seatbelt wrapped around her neck, her thigh bone shattered and teeth broken, but instead of helping, Humphries, then 19, heartlessly walked off after denying he was responsible when officers arrived at the scene. Then, having been traced to his home just 30 minutes later after checks revealed him to be the registered owner of the VW, he concocted what even his own lawyer described as an "absurd and stupid" account of being robbed of his car.

Canterbury Crown Court heard his elaborate ruse included claims of being threatened with weapons, abandoned at the roadside and having to walk for two hours. However, his story soon unravelled when it was realised not only that his timings "didn't add up" but that he had been captured at the crash scene on police bodyworn camera. He also gave a reading of 69 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath when the legal limit is 35, and forensic tests on the Scirocco airbag revealed he had been at the wheel.

Humphries, of Woodnesborough, was arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, drink-driving and failing to stop. He was also charged with fraud in relation to providing false information to Direct Line insurance in respect of the collision, but the offence, which he denied, was left on the court file and no details were provided during the sentencing hearing which heard the young victim spent 12 days in hospital and had to undergo surgery to pin her right leg, which is now scarred and shorter than the other. Jailing Humphries for two-and-a-half years, Judge Edmund Fowler told him: "You took the decision to drive home from the pub when you were clearly incapable of controlling your vehicle and your actions led to the other car being catapulted across the road to face oncoming traffic.

” Humphries was also banned from driving for three years and three months. Gaitis Dukovskis and Marek Brokim A woman kidnapped from a bar and dragged to a house by two men intent on sexual violence fears she will carry the “horror of that night” with her for the rest of her life. The vulnerable victim was heavily drunk and at times unconscious when she was marched and carried away from Clique Bar in Ramsgate by Gaitis Dukovskis and Marek Brokim.

The men - described by a judge as lacking both remorse and respect for women - then took her to a property in nearby Kent Terrace where, having come to her senses, she discovered to her terror that her trousers had been unfastened. However, Canterbury Crown Court heard that despite her fear she might be raped, she bravely managed to push her would-be attackers off, dialled 999 and fled. Desperately pleading with police to save her, she then hid behind a car until officers - with the help of the operator and the What3Words app - were able to find her cowering and in distress, Dukovskis, 37, and Brokim, 46, were then arrested at the property.

Both had been drinking, maintained there had been a “misunderstanding” and claimed they had left the woman alone when she made it clear she did not want their assistance and they later denied kidnap and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence but were convicted by a jury’s majority verdicts of 11 to one. Dukovskis, of St Mildred’s Road, Ramsgate, and Brokim, of Bramley Close, Ash, near Canterbury, were each jailed for four years. On their release, both men will have to sign on the sex offender register for 10 years.

Jerry Maughan A “despicable” man who injured and knocked a 92-year-old pensioner to the ground after robbing her was jailed. Jerry Maughan pleaded guilty to the offence that took place along Church Path in Rainham. Police were called to the town centre shortly after 1pm on March 11, 2024, as the distressed woman had asked staff at a High Street premises for help.

When patrols attended, the victim described how she had been walking her dog and pushing her trolley near to the churchyard when Maughan approached her. After bending down and making a fuss of the dog, he snatched the woman’s handbag away from her and the victim, who tried to keep hold of her property, sustained an injury to her face and was knocked to the ground. The criminal then fled the scene on foot with her bag.

At around 4pm, Maughan was arrested at an address nearby and the 25-year-old was charged the following day. After admitting the offence, Maughan, of Maya Place in Wood Green, London, was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court earlier this month to three years and four months in prison. DC Emma Laimbeer said: “This despicable man had nothing but contempt for his victim – a pensioner out shopping and walking her dog – and cared nothing for her safety.

“He subjected her to a frightening ordeal and his abhorrent actions have had a lasting impact.” Taylor Smith ​A drunk dad punched ​and headbutted his sister after ​she objected to him driving off with his children after he had spent the day drinking. Taylor Smith's ​violent outburst​, which ​also included abusing her sexuality and branding her a "f***ing freak", erupted after ​he had agreed ​to meet his girlfriend, only to be challenged about taking the two youngsters with him.

​Having insulted Lucy Smith and asserted she would "cry like a b**ch" if he hit her, he then launched his attack, relenting only when she bit him, but having slapped and struck her again, he stormed out, threatening to kill her if she reported him to police. ​With that warning ignored, the 25-year-old was eventually arrested, but police were also subjected to his temper when he racially abused one officer and pushed hot drinks over another. He also displayed a distinct lack of remorse when he told a probation officer that his sister had "backed him into a corner" and "got the reaction she was looking for".

Canterbury Crown Court heard the aspiring barber had spent the day and evening of July 27, 2023, drinking with his dad and his sister was present, along with his two children, and he reacted violently when told he should not take them with him to see his partner, the court heard. His sister challenged him, saying 'You can't drive the kids anywhere. You're drunk', to which he replied 'What the f*** are you going to do?' and he then called her a lesbian and "a f***ing freak", stated she would "cry like a b**ch", and then punched her twice, landed a headbutt and pulled her by her throat.

She then freed herself by biting him, but he slapped her legs and face and with his last punch he left, shouting and insulting her and saying not to call the police or he would kill her . She was left with a cut lip as well as swelling and bruising. Smith, of St Mildred's Road, Ramsgate, initially denied three assault charges before pleading guilty in November last year, but at his sentencing hearing earlier this month, he was jailed for 14 months.

Thomas Sharland and Joseph Devoy Two masked men subjected an elderly homeowner to a vicious and terrifying raid, leaving him with broken ribs and suffering an angina attack. Wearing balaclavas, Thomas Sharland, 32, Joseph Devoy, 29, and a third unidentified man stormed the Whitstable property on the evening of February 12 last year. They had plotted to rugby tackle their victim, who was 76 and described as "a man of ill health".

When he opened his door shortly after 7.45pm, he was repeatedly punched in the face with such force that he fell to the floor and demands for money were accompanied by threats and further violence, including a kick from burly 6ft 8ins Sharland, before the pensioner was struck with a mallet and cut with a letter knife to his ear. Canterbury Crown Court heard even the man's dog was forcefully slapped and punched while trying to protect his master and as the attack was taking place.

Sharland and Devoy were upstairs hunting for valuables, but it was said they "encouraged" the violence being meted out by their accomplice with their repeated shouts of "we can't find it!" The brave pensioner initially resisted the demands as to where the money could be found but was eventually forced to give in as the assault increased in its severity and by the time he was seriously injured with concussion, three broken ribs, chest pains and struggling for breath, the three men fled, taking £18,000 in cash, as well as cufflinks, a stopwatch of great sentimental value, and some tobacco. But having escaped, an unrepentant Sharland, of Queen Street, Herne Bay and Devoy, who was homeless at the time, exchanged a series of texts in which they ruthlessly plotted a return visit to the property in The Warren, and boasted about "making a proper living" from their criminality. Their phones, seized on arrest two months later, also revealed photos of the stolen money, panicked references to a KentOnline article about the raid and therefore a need to establish an alibi , a screenshot of a Kent Police media appeal, and internet searches relating to the length of prison sentences they faced.

Having admitted their roles in the robbery at an earlier hearing, the pair, who are both from Herne Bay, have now started jail terms with a combined total of more than 16 years, with Sharland being locked up for seven years and eight months, and Devoy for eight years and 10 months. Maureen Rickards A woman who Googled how to kill her husband before ferociously stabbing him to death and dumping his dismembered body at the bottom of her garden was jailed for life. Former law degree student Maureen Rickards was not present in the court on April 9, to be told that she will have to spend a minimum of 22 years behind bars for the brutal murder of 65-year-old Jeremy Rickards.

The 50-year-old had briefly appeared at Canterbury Crown Court over video link from HMP Bronzefield, but the diabetic complained that she had not eaten, was "hypo" and her glucose level was low and told the judge, Mr Justice Kerr, “Mentally I'm refusing the sentencing and physically I'm ill.” He then allowed her 15 minutes to have some food but, having said he was not ordering her to attend or that she was "obliged" to do so, Rickards decided not to return to learn her fate so proceeding to sentence therefore in her absence - a day before her 51st birthday - Mr Justice Kerr said he was sure that she had intended her husband's death and "nothing less" when she stabbed him with "ferocity" in his chest. He also told Rickards that her spouse, to whom she had been married for 25 years, had suffered both physically and mentally from her mistreatment in the weeks leading up to his murder, but he added: "I accept you loved him.

I don't know why you killed him. You have to live with the loss of him. You have shown no remorse.

" During her four-week trial earlier this year, the prosecution detailed how a "callous and hate-filled" Rickards had subjected her "meek and mild" geologist husband to weeks of both physical and verbal abuse - some of which she had even recorded - before killing him last summer. Having stabbed her spouse multiple times in the chest and caused fractures to his nose, neck and ribs, Rickards then stored his heavily-bleeding body in a bedroom cupboard in her cluttered loft room before wrapping him in bin sacks and stuffing him inside a holdall. She then hauled the large, nylon-weave bag down two flights of stairs and out into the rear garden where, once tucked away under overgrown foliage, it was buried under a large mound of grass cuttings until it was found by police investigating his disappearance.

Bart Verschueren A Mercedes van driver was oblivious to the fact his load contained £23 million worth of cocaine when he was stopped at the Eurotunnel. The part-time driver had unknowingly been used as a mule by a Dutch drug dealer, Bart Verschueren, when his vehicle was searched at the Coquelles border controls in France. The driver’s paperwork said his consignment of dry ice was heading for Folkestone via the Eurotunnel with its final destination being St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.

However, Verschueren, 40, who was living in Belgium, had tried to ensure the lorry would avoid checks during the first coronavirus lockdown at the time the driver arrived at the border on May 5, 2020. This was because the hospital was in no way connected with the dry ice shipment, and under the dry ice were blocks of cocaine. Although the driver was arrested, he was later released without charge when it became clear he was an innocent dupe.

However, National Crime Agency officers proved it was Verschueren who was behind at least one drugs run which contained 285kg of cocaine with a street value of around £22.8m and Verschueren, of Sint-Katelijne-Waver, a municipality south of Antwerp, was convicted and jailed in Belgium for other drug trafficking offences he committed in 2020 and 2021. He was extradited to the UK in August 2024 and charged with smuggling the 285kg of cocaine and denied the offence, but was convicted by a jury at Canterbury Crown Court in March, who heard the same vehicle Verschueren used for the failed smuggling attempt had successfully made it to the UK three times previously.

On that basis, Verschueren was sentenced earlier this month on the fact he trafficked at least 500kg of cocaine which led to him being sentenced to 18 years in prison. Brandon Coleman A sex offender who persisted in making contact with potential victims to indulge his “vile behaviour” was jailed. Brandon Coleman, of Burma Way in Chatham, spent unsupervised time with children and used electronic devices to access the internet despite having a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

The 22-year-old had been given the order after being convicted of making indecent images of children in October 2021 and the strict conditions of the court order meant he should not have any contact with juveniles unless certain restrictions were in place. It further banned him from using any devices capable of accessing the internet or storing digital images without informing the authorities and any that he did possess should be available for inspection by the police when asked. The SHPO also ordered Coleman not to use any form of software capable of deleting internet history or making messages disappear, but despite this, concerns were raised he was not complying with the order and an investigation found him to be in breach of it.

He was arrested on October 16, 2024, when an examination of his mobile phone uncovered that he had downloaded Snapchat and was using several different online aliases. He was charged and pleaded guilty to making an indecent image, failing to comply with notification requirements for the sex offender register and multiple breaches of a SHPO. At Maidstone Crown Court on April 8, Coleman was sentenced to two-and-half years in prison.

Karl Webb A knife-wielding drug addict stabbed a man repeatedly in the buttocks and thighs in revenge for a friend's gold being stolen and pawned. Karl Webb's vicious attack on Graham Nazer followed a crack cocaine deal in Boundary Park, Ramsgate, in the early hours of May 16 last year. As he demanded the victim hand over his money, the 47-year-old asked him if he was "willing to die" before knifing him with the scalpel-type blade and then as he fled the scene with accomplice Kelly Giles and a second woman, Webb was captured on CCTV boasting how he had "just stabbed the **** badly in the arse".

Webb, of High Street, Broadstairs, was arrested and later admitted offences of robbery and wounding and during his sentencing hearing at Canterbury Crown Court, the alleged motive for the "set-up" and attack was revealed. Webb, who has more than 120 offences on his criminal record, had gone to the park with Giles after she had arranged to buy the Class A drug from Mr Nazer, someone she knew well. Having arrived at approximately 1.

30am, he met the 38-year-old, who was in the company of another woman, and the deal took place without issue. But without warning, he was then immediately attacked from behind by Webb who then threw him to the ground and stabbed him multiple times in the legs and buttocks demanding his drug money and in fear, Mr Nazer took £150 in cash out of his pocket and threw it on the floor along with the drugs. Despite his numerous stab wounds, the victim was able to stagger home where police and paramedics were called and he was taken to hospital.

Webb was jailed for five years and four months. Giles, formerly of Hurst Grove, Ramsgate, but now said to be homeless and living in a tent, pleaded guilty to robbery, but failed to show up for her sentencing hearing twice and a warrant has now issued for her arrest. ​Evan Findlay A ​cruel thief who left his mum "heartbroken" after h​e burgled the family home was jailed.

​Evan Findlay targeted the flat in Folkestone five days after he had been kicked out and - having stolen a Nintendo Switch belonging to a younger relative - pawned it for £40. Canterbury Crown Court heard the 25-year-old even had the nerve to claim he had "no other choice" as his mother had refused to give him money for a hotel, but a judge poured scorn on his assertion, and promptly locked him up despite being told he was now "starting afresh" and reconciled with his family. Prosecutor Rose Slowe told the court that Findlay had been given his marching orders by his mum on December 28, 2023, when she warned him he had until 7pm to leave the property in Claremont Road or the police would be called.

After some initial pleading, Findlay left, only to phone her on January 2 last year and ask to borrow £100. When she refused to lend him money he returned to the property after she had gone to work, and she had left her door open so her son-in-law, who lived with her daughter in the flat below, could use the washing machine. Although he had locked the door to the building, he left both flat doors open and it was then discovered on the return of Findlay’s mum that a downstairs window was "wide open" and her son had gained access through it.

Once inside, he entered his mother’s flat through the unlocked door and it was then noticed a Nintendo Switch had disappeared from the kitchen side. It was then discovered that the console had been successfully pawned at a nearby branch of The Phone Doctor and Findlay later admitted a charge of burglary, as well as breaching a suspended sentence order (SSO) that had been imposed less than a year earlier for two offences of possessing a bladed article. He also has previous convictions for common assault and criminal damage.

Findlay was sentenced to 120 days' imprisonment for the SSO breach and the judge, Recorder Vivian Walters, said the 60-day jail term she imposed for the burglary would be served concurrently and added he would be subject to post-sentence supervision for a year on his release. Alan Brook A man attacked his friend with a catapult and garden shears after a row broke out as he was picking up his chihuahua from her home. Alan Brook left 55-year-old Betsy Jones with “very nasty” head injuries after a row broke out in September last year, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

The 49-year-old had gone to her home in East Malling to collect his dog, which she had been looking after, when an altercation started when Ms Jones refused to let Brook use her phone. He then pulled out a catapult loaded with a conker and took aim at the victim, but missed. She fled, and he grabbed garden shears before he beat her over the head with them and Recorder Nicola Williams was told how the wooden handles of the shears had fallen off when Brook picked them up, meaning Ms Jones was hit over the head with the exposed metal.

CCTV used in the police investigation showed Ms Jones making her way into her front garden before going to her neighbour, Brian King, and ringing his doorbell for help. Mr King took the phone from her, which Brook, formerly of Temple Way, East Malling, had claimed was his device and then snatched. He ran off before being driven to his daughter-in-law’s home in Snodland, where he was found by police hiding in the toilet.

He was later charged and pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The court also heard Brook has 18 previous convictions for 36 offences including stabbing a man in the chest in 2005, for which he was jailed for six years, and one for wounding a person in 2010 after a supermarket car park stabbing. Brook was jailed for four-and-a-half years and will serve 40% of his sentence before being released on licence and a 10-year restraining order was issued against him, preventing him from contacting Ms Jones, while a five-year order was put in place, banning him from contacting Mr King.

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 March, click here. Cameron Blakeley An abusive man who assaulted his partner for almost two years and made her life an “absolute misery” was jailed.

Cameron Blakeley abused the victim in her home near Tonbridge, with the offences starting shortly after the pair met in July 2022. His behaviour included belittling the victim in front of her friends and family, constantly demanding to know her whereabouts and making insults about her appearance. He also once used a craft knife to slash a child's cot, as well as causing other incidents while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine.

When the victim tried to end the relationship, Blakeley would bombard her phone with calls and text messages. On August 3 last year, he spat in the victim’s face in her home during an incident when she was also headbutted, had her hair pulled, and warned, “If you call the police, watch what will happen”. He was arrested two days later and the 29-year-old pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to charges of controlling or coercive behaviour and criminal damage.

A further count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm was ordered by the court to lie on file. On April 11, Blakeley was sentenced to two years and one month in prison and when he is released from custody, he will be subject to a five-year restraining order. Zak Clarke A drunk baseball bat-wielding thug unleashed a ferocious attack on strangers in a high street.

Zak Clarke suddenly brandished the weapon before repeatedly raining blows on his victims during a prolonged assault in Ramsgate. The 25-year-old broke John Dunlop’s arm as he tried shielding himself from the force of the assault, while Timothy Hancock suffered abrasions to his head. Mr Dunlop said in a victim impact statement at Canterbury Crown Court, the ordeal had prevented him from being able to go out in the town.

Placing Clarke behind bars as he wept, a judge stressed it was “abundantly clear” that he “presents a danger to the public” when he drinks and CCTV footage played in court showed the perpetrator walking along High Street with three others around pub kicking out time. In the clip, Clarke suddenly turned around, pulled the baseball bat from behind him, and then confronted Mr Dunlop and then lunged at him, striking him on the arm as he tried to defend himself, then landed another blow, breaking his left forearm. Once Clarke had chased Mr Dunlop out of view, another CCTV camera captured him swinging the weapon and he could be seen speaking with Mr Hancock in nearby Harbour Street before assaulting him with the bat.

Clarke, who was 24 at the time of the assault, has 10 previous convictions for 22 offences, including seven for battery and was jailed for 19 months. Clarke, formerly of Shaftsbury Street in Ramsgate and also Herne Bay, pleaded guilty at Margate Magistrates’ Court in January to wounding Mr Dunlop without intent, causing actual bodily harm to Mr Hancock, and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place. Petro Ninichuk A “disgusting” sex offender was jailed after targeting a teenager on a train.

The victim was walking through a carriage on a service to Sevenoaks with her friend when Petro Ninichuk grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit on the seat in front of him. She told him she was only 15 in the hope it would stop his advances, but Ninichuk still brazenly sexually assaulted her in a prolonged attack, which took place on January 27 last year. The victim’s friend approached another passenger, who intervened and invited the girls to sit with him and when the train reached Sevenoaks, the victim’s friend alerted security staff who identified Ninichuk on the train.

While he was with security staff Ninichuk spotted the victim who had been taken to safety in the station office and was trying to get near her, telling them “that’s my girlfriend”. The British Transport Police was called and he was arrested immediately and on April 11, Ninichuk pleaded guilty to sexual assault at Inner London Crown Court. The 37-year-old was sentenced to 19 weeks in prison and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for seven years.

Following the sentencing, DS Richard Osbourne said: “This was a truly disgusting and brazen sexual assault on a teenage girl, by a predator who knew full well she was just 15 years of age and chose to subject her to this prolonged attack.”.