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 killers, paedophiles, robbers, thieves and violent offenders who committed crimes and were locked up in October.

Gary Parks

A prolific criminal who targeted a number of properties and vehicles was jailed.

Gary Parks pleaded guilty to a string of crimes around Wilmington, Sevenoaks and Dartford.

An Audi and a Mercedes were stolen from a driveway in Wilmington shortly after midnight on April 3 after the owner discovered the vehicle keys had been taken from inside their house and police found the offenders had used a hire vehicle to drive there and were later able to prove Parks had been involved.

He was also one of a gang of three who stole perfume valued at more than £6,000 from Boots in Sevenoaks High Street on April 12 when he and others put the stolen goods in rucksacks before leaving without paying with Parks being identified from CCTV footage.

In the early hours of June 4, he then went to Dartford High Street in a stolen Land Rover Discovery and its number plates were from a similar vehicle that he had stolen during the previous evening in Blackheath, London.

Parks and two others forced open the doors of Savers and stole perfume worth more than £3,300 before driving off. Investigators examined CCTV footage and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and were able to prove Parks had been using the vehicle and been involved in the burglary.

Their inquiries led to a search of the Welling area where the Land Rover was found on June 6 and on June 18. A search warrant was executed at an address in Plumstead where Parks, of Okehampton Crescent, Welling, was arrested.

The 35-year-old was charged with two counts of burglary, two thefts of motor vehicles, theft from a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property and theft from a shop and appeared at Woolwich Crown Court where he was sentenced to eight years.

Dane Worton

A thug who broke a woman's nose and knocked out a tooth after she refused to hand him a can of beer greeted the length of his jail sentence by saying: “Cushty! I’ll take that!”

Just seconds earlier Dane Worton had been warned by a judge how his victim could have been left with life-changing, or even fatal, injuries.

But the 36-year-old simply reacted to learning his punishment at Canterbury Crown Court by using the slang term to express his pleasure and he then gave a thumbs-up to his dad and sister, who were sitting in the public gallery.

The court heard Worton had grabbed the woman by the back of the head and hurled her to the ground during a violent assault when she and a male friend had gone to buy alcohol from a BP garage in Folkestone Road, Dover, and he began to demand one of her cans of Stella Artois lager.

It was as she bravely tried to stop him in his attempts to snatch one that she was repeatedly shoved, causing her to fall flat on her face and that’s when violence flared.

The court heard that the parties involved - all of whom were said to lead a chaotic lifestyle - encountered each other at approximately 4.50am on February 6 this year and as the beer began rolling loose on the ground, Worton snatched up three cans and ran off and the woman suffered a broken nose and lost tooth and had swelling, grazing and cuts to her forehead.

Worton, of London Road, Dover, was immediately recognised from the CCTV by police and arrested. He later admitted causing grievous bodily harm and robbery and the court heard he’d not had the easiest of times on remand, having been stabbed while at HMP Thameside in London.

Imposing a 28-month jail term, Judge Mark Weekes said although the robbery was akin to "an opportunistic theft", violence had been used to "enforce" his demands and resulted in serious injuries and it was while Worton was being led from the dock to the cells that he proclaimed: "Twenty-eight months. Cushty! I'll take that!"

Thomas Arnold

A young man who rammed a pedestrian into a lamppost with his car after a dispute about parking was locked up.

Thomas Arnold drove his vehicle into the victim on June 25 last year, leaving him with fractures in both his legs and a testicle injury.

During a sentencing hearing at Maidstone Crown Court where a judge heard how the 25-year-old’s victim was left with about 90% to 95% of his previous movement ability after the altercation which happened in Park Drive, Kings Hill in a dispute about parking issues.

On June 25 last year Arnold, of Lavender Drive, East Malling, was already in his car at the time and drove his vehicle onto the grass verge at the victim who jumped onto the bonnet in an attempt to get out of the way.

He then steered it towards a lamppost, trapping the man between the vehicle and the streetlight and Arnold drove from the scene, leaving the victim with multiple injuries including two broken legs.

Officers located the Fiesta abandoned nearby and inquiries established the driver had fled to the Isle of Sheppey.

Two days later Arnold, who was 23 at the time, handed himself in and claimed during an interview he had been scared of the victim and hadn’t meant to harm him.

He insisted his foot had slipped on the accelerator as he tried to drive around him but Recorder Matthew Hellens said the victim suffered a “grave injury” which would leave a “lifelong impact”.

Arnold’s partner, sister, and mother sat in court while he was sentenced to five years for GBH with intent.

Danny Smith

A criminal gang responsible for importing class A drugs in shipments of bananas were locked up for more than 90 years between them.

The group, who imported and distributed at least 1.4 tonnes of cocaine from Central America, included three members from Kent with one jailed for more than 15 years.

On one occasion a ship arrived at Sheerness docks from Costa Rica and in one of the containers of bananas more than a tonne of cocaine was concealed. The gang arrived the following night and removed the crates of cocaine and took them back to a yard in Longfield for onward distribution.

The same day, police stopped a vehicle leaving the yard and found stacks of banana labels in the glove box and when questioned, one of the men claimed they were collected by his son, but the labels were traced to the same shipping container used to smuggle the drugs.

Once the haul had been divided between the couriers, members of the gang returned to the port the following night and filled the gaps made by the removal of the cocaine with bananas they had bought from supermarkets.

Danny Smith, 32, from Berrylands, Orpington was jailed for 16 years and eight months

at Maidstone Crown Court after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply and import class A drugs

Between March and December 2021, the gang used an encrypted messaging app and pseudonyms such as Tunes, Bigwheeler and Rocket to communicate and arrange the movement of between 30 and 100kg of drugs at a time, predominantly using hire vans to collect and transport the drugs across the UK.

Arrests were made in October last year across six different areas, including Kent, London, Cambridgeshire, Staffordshire, Manchester, Cleveland and Northumbria and a total of eight people were charged for their part in the gang. Another man, Reece Jury, 36, from Queens Drive, Sevenoaks was jailed for 13 years and four months after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply and import class A drugs.

Addison Curtis, 37, of Westbrook Avenue, Margate pleaded guilty to money laundering and was jailed for two years, suspended for two years and others from Manchester, Sunderland, Wigan and Stockton-on-Tees were also locked up.

Bernard Saunders

A holiday park boss was jailed after a man was left needing surgery for serious facial injuries in a “brutal” attack.

Bernard Saunders, who recently put millions of pounds into a leisure park on the Isle of Sheppey with his brother, was sentenced for grievous bodily harm (GBH) after hitting his victim with an axe handle.

The 30-year-old was arrested after an incident in London Road, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex on March 21, where a man was left with such serious injuries he needed surgery.

At about 11.30am the victim was at work and saw Saunders, a father-of-one, before running away, but a short while later he saw Saunders again who approached him while holding an axe handle.

A police spokesman said: “Despite trying to evade Saunders by running across a busy roundabout, Saunders caught him and attacked him, leaving him with three separate facial injuries which later required surgery and Saunders left the scene and left the victim in a serious condition.

“Using ANPR and CCTV cameras, officers were able to identify Saunders and, on April 1, arrested him as he tried to leave the country and further investigation at Saunders’ home address found a handle believed to be the weapon used in the attack.”

Saunders was initially charged with GBH with intent and pleaded not guilty, but later pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of GBH the day before he was due to stand trial, and the court accepted the plea.

He was locked up for 28 months and was handed a six-year restraining order.

Rhys Mateer

A registered paedophile was jailed after he tampered with a monitoring device and hid a hard drive from police.

Rhys Mateer was previously convicted at Maidstone Crown Court in 2020 for engaging in sexual communication with a child.

He received a suspended sentence that came with strict sex offender notification requirements and this included telling police within three days if he used an alias online or received new bank cards.

He was also issued with a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) which allowed officers access to any device capable of storing digital images. Mateer was subject to unannounced visits from police to check he was complying.

On June 15, two constables arrived at his home and found he had tampered with monitoring software installed on his mobile phone as he had used an application that prevented him from keeping his browsing history.

Further checks found he had been using an alias on his gaming console without notifying the police and he also had a laptop and an external hard drive, both of which hadn't been declared.

Mateer, formerly from Minster, was arrested and further searches located a bank card he had not declared, a tablet and a mobile phone in his car and he was later charged and pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to five counts of breaching his SHPO and two counts of breaching the requirements of the sex offenders’ register.

The 27-year-old was sentenced to two years and seven months’ imprisonment and this included four months for breaching a suspended sentence. On his release from prison he will be subject to a further SHPO indefinitely.

Danas Ambrazevicius, Abigail Dearlove and Charlie Rider

A robbery victim was violently assaulted after he was lured into a trap by a woman pretending to be in distress.

The good Samaritan had been walking along Old Tovil Road in Maidstone in the early hours of January 2, when he came across a woman at the corner of Hayle Road pleading for help.

As he went to assist her, she suddenly grabbed his hand before two men approached and he was then chased, beaten and warned if he resisted, he could be killed and the victim tried to flee but was bundled to the floor, where he was beaten, kicked and reportedly threatened with a weapon, believed to be a knife.

As a result, the man’s phone and wallet were stolen and he was left suffering multiple injuries including bruising and a broken nose and a police probe identified the three suspects as Danas Ambrazevicius, Abigail Dearlove and Charlie Rider.

At Maidstone Crown Court, Ambrazevicius, 41 and Dearlove, 35, both of no fixed address, denied a charge of robbery but were found guilty after a trial.

Ambrazevicius was sentenced to three years and eight months’ imprisonment, while Dearlove was jailed for a total of five years and four months – this included a guilty plea for a separate case linked to the supply of class A drugs.

Rider, 26, pleaded guilty to the robbery and also admitted to several counts of making threats with a corrosive substance and assaults on emergency workers, in relation to a separate case.

These charges were linked to an incident on March 17, when he threw a substance in the faces of four officers called to a disturbance at his home in Knightrider Street, Maidstone, and he was sentenced at the same court to three years and three months.

Richard Howes

A registered sex offender who made indecent images of children was jailed for breaching a court order.

Richard Howes, of Prospect Row, Chatham, had been banned from keeping any new internet-enabled devices without first notifying the police.

It followed an earlier conviction at Maidstone Crown Court in August 2021 for making indecent images of children.

At the time he was handed a suspended sentence and handed a sexual harm prevention order requiring him to notify the police within three days if he acquired any new devices and to make them available for inspection.

However, after suspecting Howes, 59, had a new phone which he had failed to tell them about officers visited him on February 28.

Howes presented a phone and a tablet for inspection and denied having any other devices.

He was arrested and a search of his property uncovered two further tablets and another phone he had not declared.

He pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to three breaches of a sexual harm prevention order and was sentenced to one year and six months which also included six months for breaching the suspended sentence.

Naguib Lootfun

A trusted carer sexually assaulted a patient with severe disabilities, probably while they slept, a court heard.

Naguib Lootfun’s depraved act only came to light when a colleague discovered a used condom in the bedroom.

When confronted the 69-year-old, from Maidstone, said it must have fallen out of his pocket after having sex with his wife earlier, but a forensic examination found traces of both his and the victim’s DNA.

Lootfun was suspended while a major criminal and safeguarding investigation got underway and a specialist team of officers then uncovered another condom with semen matching his.

Ultraviolet light and swabs were used to find more traces on the floor, bed and a curtain in the room and further samples were collected from another patient’s room.

The court heard Mauritian-born Lootfun, a registered nurse, was allowed to work without supervision and one of his colleagues said they would have trusted him with the most vulnerable person.

A mobile phone taken by police also revealed an inappropriate picture of another resident taken two years earlier and Maidstone Crown Court heard that on the day a safeguarding inquiry was launched, he completed an application for a job to look after another vulnerable person.

Lootfun pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice and Judge Julian Smith sentenced him to 15 years in jail to run concurrently on each charge and said he will not be considered for parole until he has served two-thirds of this term.

Sean Gaskin

A prolific thief was back behind bars after swiping goods from three stores just weeks after being released from a jail term for a spate of similar crimes.

Sean Gaskin was jailed for just under a year in June after admitting 13 shoplifting charges he’d carried out while on a suspended sentence he’d been given for targeting shops in Sheerness.

Gaskin relentlessly targeted the likes of Holland and Barrett, Boots, Savers, Superdrug and New Look in the town back in February when the 42-year-old snatched more than £2,500 of goods from shops.

He had admitted 10 shoplifting charges when he appeared before Folkestone magistrates on April 29, when he was given a suspended sentence.

However, over the following weeks, the thief went on to commit further offences and he was arrested at the end of May and remanded in custody.

He appeared in court in June and admitted another 13 shoplifting offences and was jailed for a total of 330 days, which included the activation of the suspended sentence.

But when the criminal was released from prison less than three months later, he soon went out pilfering again and admitted another three counts of shoplifting when he appeared in court.

Judge William Nelson said he had no option but to jail Gaskin because of his previous offending history and locked him up for 90 days which will run concurrently to the sentence he was recalled on.

Barry Rossiter

A drug-driver who ran over a police officer as he attempted to pull him over for speeding was jailed.

In a hit-and-run, Barry Rossiter accelerated towards PC Adam Staughton as he stood in the road in Ashford, knocking him onto the bonnet of the Vauxhall Vectra and then the windscreen, causing it to smash on impact.

The seriously injured officer fell onto the ground but as he lay there in severe pain from fractures to his hip and pelvis, the callous 24-year-old sped off.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that as Rossiter made his escape, he drove dangerously on the wrong side of the road, mounted a pavement and even collided with an Age UK vehicle carrying four elderly passengers, but undeterred, he continued to flee, with his speed estimated at reaching 90mph, before he eventually abandoned the vehicle.

However, Rossiter, of Nickley Wood, Ashford, was identified and arrested five days later and not only had he been using drugs in the lead-up to the incident but he did not hold a full driving licence, the car was not registered to him and he had no insurance.

He was originally charged with attempted murder but later pleaded guilty to the less serious offence of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, which was accepted by the CPS and the court heard just five years earlier he had been locked up for four-and-a-half years for stabbing a man three times at a party.

He also attacked a police officer who was escorting him to court and later pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker.

Concluding Rossiter was a dangerous offender, Judge Simon James imposed a 12-year extended sentence for public protection which comprises a jail term of 10 years, of which he has to serve at least two-thirds before he can apply for parole and once released, any time which is then spent on licence will be extended by two years.

Joshua Norton

An aggressive shoplifter was granted his wish to be jailed after he pleaded with magistrates to be locked up again.

As soon as Joshua Norton was brought up from cells to the dock he opened his mouth before the bench had heard the facts about his crimes.

The 38-year-old told them: “I have a cracked rib and my ankle is killing me. If you don’t send me down, I’ll be gutted.”

The court then heard, Norton, of no fixed address but from the Canterbury area, plead guilty to two counts of shoplifting, one attempted theft and a charge of threatening behaviour when he appeared in the dock before magistrates in Margate on October 4.

They heard he stole various goods from the Co-op store in Whitstable on July 24 and attempted to steal from the Iceland store in the town on September 23 and on October 3, he swiped two ice lattes from the same shop where he also abused a shop worker.

When asked by the chairman of the bench, Dianne August, if he had anything to say about the matters, Norton simply replied: “I have nothing to say.”

Mrs August added: “So Mr Norton we have considered the facts and decided you do get your wish.”

She then told him he was being jailed for six weeks for all 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 September, click here.

Matthew Doran

A 65-year-old woman was left “screaming in fright” after she and her husband were assaulted by their drunk, "evil-eyed” son.

Margaret Doran was pushed “with substantial force” into bathroom tiles by Matthew Doran during a violent outburst at the family home in Gillingham.

Just seconds later, the 43-year-old grabbed his 76-year-old father Alan by the throat and squeezed before throwing him to the ground and Maidstone Crown Court heard both parents are vulnerable with numerous disabilities and health conditions.

Mr Doran Snr, who suffers from asthma and emphysema, had also had a recent stroke and there were already concerns about their son's behaviour as he had been violent in the past and it was on July 6 this year that Doran's temper flared after he came home drunk.

He had already been warned by his mum not to drink any more alcohol that day, only to respond by telling her to “F*** off” and then storming out the house, slamming the front door so hard it was damaged, the court heard.

On his return, he could be heard in his bedroom banging, swearing and saying “C***, I'll knock your head off,” and his mother asked him to stop but he was aggressive and threatening and caused her to feel scared and vulnerable and prosecutor Martin Yale told the court: “She said she looked into his eyes and saw evil.”

Doran was arrested the same day but, once in a cell, urinated on the floor and then became aggressive with a female police officer and he later pleaded guilty to offences of intentional strangulation, assault by beating, common assault on an emergency worker and damaging property and was locked up for 15 months and was banned from entering his parents’ road for two years.

Lewis O’Brien

A habitual thief who was back behind bars after admitting a string of shoplifting offences said at least he’s got somewhere warm to kip this winter.

Lewis O’Brien, from Gillingham, was released from a short prison sentence on September 27, but just six days later he was arrested after being caught stealing £85 of alcohol from a supermarket in Herne Bay.

The 34-year-old, who was still on licence from prison when he committed the crime, was arrested and hauled before the courts the next day and during the hearing he also admitted several other theft offences, including one which he said he couldn’t have committed because he was still in his prison cell at the time.

O’Brien, of Canterbury Street, Gillingham was charged with stealing £85 of alcohol from the Morrison’s store in Herne Bay on October, 3, but also admitted six other shoplifting offences when he appeared in the dock at Margate Magistrates’ Court on October 4.

In May last year, O’Brien, who has a lengthy record, was handed a community order after stealing clothes from the TK Maxx store in Chatham, not long after serving a 38-month stretch for robbery.

He then told them despite admitting one of offences, he couldn’t have done one.

He said: “The one of the 26th (September) couldn’t have been me as I was in prison, but winter is coming and I now have accommodation.”

Magistrates said as the offences were so serious and committed while he was on licence that only a prison sentence would be appropriate and jailed O’Brien for eight weeks for all the offences.

Peter Orsman

A stalker who sent Facebook emojis to his victim weeks after release from prison following a terrifying four-month vendetta is back behind bars.

Peter Orsman, of Ashford, used the social media site to post thumbs-up symbols, a blue heart and a friend request, in breach of a restraining order.

The 54-year-old was locked up for a year at Canterbury Crown Court where it emerged he also pinned the location of his victim’s home onto an online map.

In January, the former nurse was jailed for 10 months after the prosecution outlined his terrifying four-month vendetta against a man, which included a "malicious" outing of his sexuality on social media and at the time he pleaded guilty to stalking involving serious alarm or distress and was released immediately due to time already served on remand.

But during the hearing, Recorder Daniel Stevenson stressed Orsman was "very much the author" of his misfortune and handed down a five-year restraining order which banned him from contacting his victim, attending his home address and workplace, and posting about him on social media.

But about a month after his release, Orsman sent the same victim a Facebook thumbs-up symbol, followed by another in March, a blue heart in May, and then a friend request and when police were alerted to Orsman’s latest offending they made a disturbing discovery on an electronic device.

Officers found he had persistently Googled his victim’s name and pinned the location of his home address onto an online map and hauled before the same court Orsman pleaded guilty to four counts of violating a restraining order and later admitted one charge of online surveillance.

During a sentencing hearing at the same court on October 10, He was handed a one-year prison sentence.

Peter Johnson

Body-worn footage showed the moment a registered sex offender was arrested after he was caught using a fake online profile to groom and abuse a child.

In October last year, Peter Johnson of Liptraps Lane, Tunbridge Wells, made “persistent and repeated” efforts to contact a girl using Snapchat, who told him she was only 13.

He also sent her a series of explicit images over several days, including a video of himself, under the alias Matt Harper and Johnson, formerly known as Peter Austen, had been convicted of possessing indecent images of children in 2017.

For those offences, he received a suspended sentence and was added to the sex offender register for 10 years and earlier this month the 37-year-old was jailed after he ignored previous measures imposed by the courts to prevent him from reoffending.

In October 2023, officers from Kent Police’s Offender Management Unit discovered Johnson was contacting another user who had said she was only 13, but what Johnson did not know is the child did not exist – her profile was part of a fictitious account and some of the images he sent to the account included his face and officers were able to recognise Johnson.

He was arrested on November 15 at his home and a phone was seized and checks led to the discovery of an illegal image of a child in the most serious category.

He was charged with engaging in sexual communication with a child, causing a child to engage in a sexual act, causing a child to view an image of sexual activity, making an indecent image of a child and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements.

He pleaded guilty and at Maidstone Crown Court on October 10 was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and Johnson will be subject to a 12-year sexual harm prevention order and will have to comply with sex offender notifications for life.

Aidan Sinclair

A “manipulative” fraudster who falsely portrayed himself as a millionaire businessman in order to trick his victims out of thousands of pounds was locked up.

Aidan Sinclair, from Greenhithe, even offered one victim tickets to the Ascot races in the Royal box to get him to hand over his cash.

Between 2020 and 2022, the crook forged bank statements, contracts and other documents to win the trust of three people he targeted and one victim, a neighbour of Sinclair’s at the time was persuaded to invest in a company that did not actually exist.

He also told her he was in the process of buying a multi-million-pound property and that he could help her to secure her own mortgage on a house and the 61-year-old invented a string of reasons why he required money from the woman to help him do so, resulting in her giving him more than £18,000 in total.

Some of this was returned to the victim by her banks, although she still made an overall loss of more than £9,000 and the second victim worked in the financial sector and was introduced to Sinclair by a mutual associate.

Sinclair tricked the man into believing he had £5 million in an offshore account after presenting him with a falsified bank statement, and even offered to book him tickets to Ascot in the Royal Enclosure and he transferred the money across but the tickets were never purchased and Sinclair kept the funds for himself.

In addition to work the man carried out on Sinclair’s behalf but was not paid for, he lost a total of around £36,000 and a third victim was a director of two companies that Sinclair had said he was going to invest £6 million in, and had signed a contract confirming his intent to do so, but the cheques he sent bounced and at one stage Sinclair said he required a £45,000 release fee in order to send the funds, which the victim did not pay.

Kent Police arrested Sinclair at the two-bedroom flat where he was living in Havelock Drive, Greenhithe, in August 2022 and he later pleaded guilty to several fraud offences and at Woolwich Crown Court he was jailed for three years and two months.

Lorenc Stefanaj

A “callous” burglar was jailed after bungling three break-ins and leaving traces of his DNA at the scene of his crimes.

Lorenc Stefanaj targeted homes when residents were absent and “ruthlessly” targeted jewellery, often of sentimental value.

He first gained unlawful entry to a property in Wrotham Road, Meopham on December 29 last year after smashing a window where the 31-year-old then stole jewellery of sentimental value before leaving the scene.

The police were alerted and later recovered DNA from Stefanaj on a piece of broken glass and he then targeted a property in Larks Field, Longfield, between January 3 and January 10, this year and had entered the premises by forcing open a window but left empty-handed.

But, a subsequent forensic examination at the scene located blood at the point of entry which was later found to have Stefanaj’s DNA on it and between February 2 and 4, the offender went on to target a house in Banstead, Surrey and gained entry through a window before stealing jewellery – his DNA was once again identified.

CCTV images from one of the crime scenes notified other forces that Stefanaj was wanted and in April he was arrested in London after discarding a rucksack containing two screwdrivers whilst fleeing from patrols.

Stefanaj, of Havelock Road, in Luton, Bedfordshire, was charged with three burglaries and remanded in custody.

He pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and was jailed for one year and six months.

Sam Richards

A drink and drug-fuelled father-of-five who had just been released from prison dragged his girlfriend by the hair and threw her "like a ragdoll".

The woman was desperately trying to flee her Canterbury home on Christmas Eve last year when Sam Richards violently manhandled her.

As she straddled the flat window, with a friend outside assisting her escape, he grabbed her from behind and pulled her back inside but the 43-year-old’s force caused her to hit a table and the floor, knocking over the Christmas tree and leaving her with what she feared to be a dislocated hip.

When she did finally manage to escape, she was forced to hide in terror in a nearby garden as an irate Richards made a search, shouting abuse and threatening he would kill her and he was subsequently arrested with what appeared to be a self-inflicted cut to his cheek that he blamed on his partner.

Richards, formerly of Tennyson Avenue, Canterbury, later pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm and at his sentencing hearing Canterbury Crown Court heard the defendant and his girlfriend had been in a relationship for about nine years by the time of the attack.

Richards was jailed for 12 months which, given time spent in custody, meant his release from prison was expected to be immediate.

On passing sentence, Recorder Sarah Counsell acknowledged the progress he had made since the incident.

Richards, who appeared in court via a video link with Elmley Prison, will be subject to 12-month post-sentence supervision by the probation service and he was also handed a five-year restraining order.

Kenado Boja

A drug dealer was foiled after stashing cocaine in his vape, giving a false name and pretending to be Greek.

Officers stopped a Ford Fiesta in Calverley Road in Tunbridge Wells which they suspected was involved in the supply of drugs.

The driver, Kenado Boja, appeared nervous as he produced a Greek identify card while explaining he was moving the car for a friend.

He was detained for a drug search and cocaine was recovered from inside a vape, along with two other bags of cocaine inside the vehicle, and two mobile phones.

The 21-year-old was arrested the same day and admitted to giving false details once in custody.

The confiscated cocaine was found to have a street value of £500, while a search at an address linked to Boja revealed about 50 wraps of cocaine, worth up to £2,700 and digital scales and £613 cash were also seized.

Boja, of Great Western Road, Isleworth in London, was charged and pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to possessing cocaine with intent to supply and possession of an identity document with intent.

On Tuesday, October 15, he was sentenced to three years and six months in prison and will forfeit the seized cash and Ford Fiesta.

Darren Regan

A prolific criminal who flogged a delivery driver’s car online and rammed a vehicle in a flurry of road rage was jailed.

Sittingbourne thief Darren Regan launched his six-month crime spree in January when he broke into two cars at stole a pair of binoculars.

As well as stealing, the 32-year-old committed multiple driving offences, including ramming another vehicle and placing tape over his registration plate before driving off without paying for fuel at a petrol station and he pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and was jailed for one year and 11 months and will also be disqualified from driving for two years and 11 months when he’s released.

His crime spree began in the early hours of January 29 when he broke into two vehicles near Sheerness and stole a pair of binoculars from one of them, but patrol officers stopped him moments later and found the binoculars hidden in his coat sleeve and Regan was arrested and charged with theft and interfering with a vehicle.

But he continued his crime spree on May 14 when he altered the registration number on his Ford Fiesta using black tape and left a petrol station in Minster-on-Sea without paying for fuel valued at £76.21 and on May 25, he also stole a VW Jetta belonging to a delivery driver who had parked it in Sittingbourne and sold it online for £575.

Police arrested him again and he spat on a camera whilst in the police station custody area and was charged with making off without payment for fuel, theft of a car, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, no insurance and criminal damage.

But he committed further offences on June 27 after he attempted to intimidate another motorist in Sheerness when he drove very close to the rear of the other vehicle and in a dangerous manner, rammed the rear of the other car and his vehicle was tracked down displaying false registration plates and he was arrested again.

Regan was further charged with dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, no insurance, failing to stop after a collision, failing to report a collision at a police station and fraudulent use of a registration mark.

Athian Majak

A sexual predator who followed women and girls around streets before attempting to touch and grab them was jailed.

Athian Majak groped females as they were trying to go about their day in the St Stephen’s area of Canterbury.

In June 2024, four women and girls were followed by a man in the city.

He attempted to touch or grab his victims and in some cases was deterred when they shouted at him.

Two officers patrolling the area on June 12 spotted a man following a woman and matched the description of the offender given by victims in previous reports.

He was arrested and detectives determined the man, Majak, was the suspect for four incidents in June, as well as additional offences in December.

Charges including indecent exposure, sexual touching, and attempted sexual touching were authorised against Majak, of Downs Road, Canterbury.

The 20-year-old admitted all nine offences at Canterbury Crown Court and was given a three-year custodial sentence in a youth offenders’ institute.

Ajay Porter

A killer who brutally knifed a "compassionate and caring" grandfather seven times and left him dying on his doorstep was jailed for 16 years.

Fuelled by alcohol and cannabis, Ajay Porter fatally stabbed 66-year-old Derek O'Hare in the communal hallway of his home at sheltered accommodation for over-55s in Dover.

The tragedy on December 11 last year was described by the judge as "a frenzied and deadly" attack involving "senseless and extreme" violence on a prone man and carried out "in retaliation and revenge".

Canterbury Crown Court had heard the killing occurred after the pensioner and Porter had spent just a few weeks in each other's company and was triggered by the vulnerable and infirm pensioner, described by one of his neighbours as "happy, cheerful and always singing", accusing Porter, 37, of stealing drugs from him.

It had been alleged by the prosecution at trial that he had arrived armed with a knife and, intent on meting out violence, murdered the pensioner in a "vicious and merciless" attack.

However, dad-of-five Porter, also from Dover but of no fixed address, claimed he acted out of fear and panic and he went on trial earlier this year denying murder, manslaughter and having a bladed article.

He was cleared of the most serious offence, as well as having a bladed article, but convicted by the jury of manslaughter by loss of control after deliberations which lasted for about 11 hours and at his sentencing hearing, Porter was told he was a "dangerous offender" and therefore a 20-year extended sentence was necessary to protect the public.

It consists of a 16-year term of imprisonment, of which he has to serve at least two-thirds before he can apply for parole and once released, and only after it is deemed safe to do so, a further four years will be added to any licence period.

Carl Fincham, Matthew O’Reilly and Rocco Inchenko

A gang rewarded a letting agent for allowing them to hide cash and drugs inside empty flats.

Two Ramsgate properties in Cavendish Street were used to hide huge amounts of cocaine and drug-related equipment.

Detectives said Matthew O’Reilly frequently arranged for two other men, Carl Fincham and Rocco Inchenko to collect, store and sell illegal substances on his behalf and when officers stopped Inchenko he was found in possession of two large bricks of cocaine along with several other small packets of the class A drug and he also had a key fob that granted him access to a nearby flat, where officers found and seized a total of 1.2kg of cocaine valued at more than £30k.

After 21-year-old Inchenko’s arrest and while police were still inside the property, the letting agent Natalie Child arrived and attempted to gain entry and she admitted having given Inchenko the keys and was also arrested and mobile phone evidence was used to prove O’Reilly had arranged for money to be left in a fridge for her to collect.

She claimed to have been paid a total of £500 across several weeks and later that week, search warrants were carried out at the homes of O’Reilly and Fincham, who were both arrested for drug supply offences a police dog also helped officers locate a firearm hidden beneath the floorboards of Fincham’s property.

All four offenders were sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court with O’Reilly, of Bakers Field, Ramsgate, pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and possession of criminal property – Rolex watches and the 38-year-old was jailed for eight years and three months.

Fincham, 43, of Northwood Road, Broadstairs, admitted possessing a firearm and being concerned in the supply of cocaine and was jailed for eight years and Inchenko, of Dumpton Park Drive, Ramsgate was jailed for five years and three months after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and possession of criminal property.

Child, of Naylands, Margate, received a 12-month community order and 150 hours of unpaid work after the 33-year-old admitted participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group.

John Bird

A retired grammar school teacher had been driving illegally for more than seven years when he knocked down a pedestrian, causing a catastrophic brain injury.

John Bird had been declared medically unfit to get behind a wheel due to his deteriorating eyesight as long ago as May 2015 when he hit grandfather Keith McCann on December 10, 2022.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the 69-year-old was on his way to buy a newspaper when he turned right into the entrance of The Wheatsheaf pub in Herne Bay Road, Swalecliffe, but Bird, who lacked peripheral vision as a result of his condition, did not see Mr McCann, an ex-rugby player and marathon runner, as he was walking across the entrance.

Having been struck by the driver's side of the car, the 75-year-old, who lived with his wife in Whitstable and had worked for Customs and Excise until his retirement, fell and hit the back of his head on the Tarmac surface and the previously active, independent and physically fit dad-of-two suffered irreversible brain damage as well as fractures to his skull and left ankle, and was left in a vegetative state.

Mr McCann sadly died just under a year later - and one month after his hospital discharge - at the Willow Park Lodge care home in Dover and Bird, of Glenside, Whitstable, had stopped at the time of the collision and called an ambulance for the stricken victim.

He was originally charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving but while he awaited sentence having pleaded guilty, Mr McCann died on December 6 last year, but Bird, who spent much of his 40-year career teaching at Stockport Grammar School in Greater Manchester, was then recharged with causing death by dangerous driving, which he also admitted.

On jailing Bird for three years, Judge Simon James said the offence was "too serious" to justify anything other than immediate imprisonment, despite what had been his "lifetime of selfless service" to others.

Bird was also handed a driving ban until further order.

Kaine Morley

A suspect who pulled out a ball-bearing gun and meted out threats in a town centre was placed behind bars for more than a year.

Kaine Morley, from Dover, sparked a massive armed police response when he was seen wielding a “possible handgun” in Ramsgate.

Officers traced the 24-year-old to Harbour Parade the same evening, where he was found to be in possession of the weapon and knife.

Morley was charged on the same day with possession of an imitation firearm and a bladed article.

He admitted both charges following his actions on May 27 and was locked up for a year and two months at Canterbury Crown Court.

The term included the activation of two suspended sentences he was serving at the time of the offences.

Investigating officer DC Glenn Day said: “There is absolutely no reason or excuse for taking weapons out with you, and doing so puts you and others in danger.

“I am pleased at the speed at which Morley was located, arrested and charged and I hope the sentence sends a message out to others that jail awaits those who carry weapons.”

Liam Battelle

A violent and “extremely jealous” boyfriend who subjected his partner to several assaults was jailed.

Controlling Liam Battelle began attacking the victim “almost immediately” after he moved into her home last year and made her ask his permission to use her own phone.

The 31-year-old, from Chatham High Street, often accused his partner of having other relationships and would sit next to her and listen in to any phone calls she would make.

As time went on, Battelle’s coercive behaviour continued, including not allowing the victim to go to the bathroom alone or use her straighteners and the thug, who met his victim through social media, also threatened to throw acid in the woman’s face if she ever left him.

Battelle’s actions forced the woman to become distant from her family members and close friends, and even damaged her property and used her bank card to make purchases for himself.

Police arrested him on July 11 and he was later charged with controlling and coercive behaviour.

He had also been convicted of a sexual offence against a different victim in 2019 and was required to sign the sex offenders register and this included notifying the police if he resided at a new address within three days and Battelle was additionally charged with two breaches of these conditions.

Battelle pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and was sentenced to two years and 10 months’ imprisonment and he will also be subject to a restraining order on his release from prison for seven years.

Ashley Southgate

A property tycoon who strangled a woman numerous times was locked up.

Ashley Southgate, from Maidstone, used repeated violence against a woman he knew and caused division and isolation from her family and friends.

On February 17, Southgate subjected his victim to a violent assault at a residential property and strangled her multiple times.

Two days later, he verbally abused the woman before assaulting her again.

She then had the courage to contact the police and on February 24 the 57-year-old was arrested.

At Maidstone Crown Court, he was found guilty of intentional strangulation, as well as common assault and sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment.

DC Jennifer Mitchell said: “Southgate subjected this woman to a terrifying and prolonged ordeal, where she was left isolated and in fear.

“Assaults of this nature not only result in injury but also cause psychological effects on the victims that can stay with them for the rest of their lives.”

Bradley Packman

A man who helped the victims of a multi-vehicle crash was jailed after police called to the scene discovered he was carrying a knife.

Bradley Packman, of Margate, was found with the blade hidden in his shorts by officers responding to the accident in the early hours of a July morning in Cliftonville.

When police arrived in Ethelbert Road, where a car was on its roof, they believed the 30-year-old had been involved in the crash, then placed him in their vehicle to take him to hospital.

But after removing Packman from the van, police discovered he was concealing a large knife, making it the second time he was caught with a blade in four years and Packman, of Appledore Close, admitted possession of a bladed article in public in September but the hearing was adjourned to allow a pre-sentencing report to be carried out on him.

He returned for sentencing at Margate Magistrates’ Court where his lawyer argued he was “very confused” and “forgot” the knife was on him during the incident on July 21.

Roger Davies defending told magistrates sentencing guidelines for someone being caught with a knife twice within 10 years warrants a six-month custodial sentence unless it was unjust to jail that person.

Magistrates said they could not find an unjust reason not to jail Packman for the offence and locked him up for 120 days.

They also ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of £154 as well as £85 court costs.”