A shoplifter was jailed after breaching a court order by targeting several supermarkets across Kent.

Lewis O’Brien, from Chatham, had previously been made the subject of a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) barring him from all Tesco and B&M stores across the county.

He was also banned from entering any shop with a bag, but O’Brien went into B&M in Gillingham High Street on two occasions in September and during one visit, he stole smart watches, speakers, and a gaming bridge worth £186.

He also entered Tesco in Bridge Road, Sheerness, twice on September 18, and stole alcohol both times and the next day, he took £77.86 worth of meat from Lidl in West Street, Sittingbourne, where he was arrested.

During a hearing at Medway Magistrates’ Court O’Brien, of New Road, pleaded guilty to five counts of breaching his CBO and four charges of theft.

He was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison.

Sergeant Paul Relf said: “O’Brien has frequently been on our radar for similar crimes and his imprisonment is a testament to the effectiveness of CBOs.

“I hope he serves as a warning for others with restrictions; if you breach them, you risk an immediate period behind bars.”

Joshua Gamble

A father was locked up after punching a man who confronted him over spitting on his car.

Joshua Gamble split the man’s eyebrow when he attacked him in a park in Strood.

He also viciously assaulted a Tesco security guard with a bottle of wine, before smashing two other bottles on the shop floor and the 20-year-old father-of-one, who was said to be “a high risk to the public”, carried out a string of other offences within months of each other.

Gamble, who used to live in Medway but now lives in Knockhall Road, Greenhithe, admitted a total of 12 offences in July and returned to Medway Magistrates’ Court on September 18 for sentencing.

The charges include: assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault by beating, theft, criminal damage, driving while disqualified, failing to provide a specimen for analysis, failing to stop when required by an officer, handling stolen goods, two counts of driving without insurance, driving without a licence, and failing to surrender to custody.

Magistrates locked Gamble up for 12 months for the ABH offence at the park, and he was also given 11 weeks’ custody for the attack on the Tesco security guard, to run concurrently alongside the 12 months he’d already received.

Gamble was fined £120 for a handling stolen goods offence and had six points placed on his licence for a driving while disqualified offence and was banned for 24 months for failing to provide a specimen and fined £180.

For the other driving offences, he received no separate penalties, but his licence was endorsed.

Stuart Wenham

A registered sex offender was locked up again after he was caught with more than 600 cartoon images of child abuse.

Stuart Wenham, 47, from Medway, had only been released from prison in March of this year when he broke strict court orders banning him from accessing indecent material or hiding devices.

Wenham had previously been jailed in 2023 for making indecent images of children and was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, but shortly after his release, police suspected he was concealing a secret phone and using a VPN (Virtual Private Network).

When arrested, officers seized a second phone and discovered hundreds of “pseudo-cartoon” images, including depictions of abuse against a baby under the age of one.

He had also been using a VPN, hiding a laptop, and breaching notification requirements about his devices and software.

The laptop showed he had used cloud storage and deleted his browsing history to cover his tracks and when questioned about the cartoons, he told police they were not of real children and claimed the victims appeared happy.

He pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to several breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, failing to comply with notification requirements, and possessing a prohibited image of a child.

Wenham was jailed for four years by a judge who described him as “a dangerous man” with a long history of similar offending.

Lauren Willis

A mum-of-one drove the wrong way around a roundabout and mowed down a scaffolder in a fit of road rage, a court heard.

Lauren Willis deliberately ploughed her white Volkswagen Golf into the victim, launching him into the air after he hit the windscreen on May 31 last year.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how the victim’s partner, who was driving an Audi R1 and dropping him off at work, beeped Willis as she pulled in front of their car while leaving a petrol station in Queenborough Road, Minster.

Later on, the Audi passed Willis and she began driving aggressively, pulling up beside the car, swerving and braking in front of them before accelerating away, but in an effort to de-escalate the situation, the victim told his partner to quickly leave the road via the slip road near Bobbing, as Willis was, at this point, further ahead.

But the 28-year-old mum managed to pull her car across two lanes and followed the two victims and Willis, of Wollaston Close, Parkwood in Rainham, then pulled her car in front of the Audi and both cars stopped.

She and her partner got out, and a physical altercation occurred at the Bobbing roundabout along the A249 near Sittingbourne and after he told his partner to flee the scene, Willis was seen by another witness driving the wrong way around the roundabout and directly at the victim.

He was struck by the car, flipped onto the windscreen and into the air, before landing on the road and he was left with serious facial injuries, including missing teeth, a broken nose and was covered in blood.

Willis admitted the charge of grievous bodily harm with intent, and Judge Julian Smith sentenced her to three-and-a-half years in prison, and she was also been banned from driving for five years and a restraining order has been put in place to prevent her from contacting the victims.

​Natasza Zakrzewska

Harrowing footage showed the moment door staff shouted “watch out behind you” as a woman raised a knife above her head before repeatedly stabbing a stranger in the back.

​Natasza Zakrzewska launched ​her ​"random and ferocious" attack​ on an unsuspecting grandmother as the victim walked home from bingo along Biggin Street in Dover.

CCTV captured ​the 47-year-old pulling the large kitchen blade from her bra and rushing up to the woman from behind​ and without warning​ or saying a single word, ​she then plunged it ​multiple times into ​the left shoulder and arm area of the woman's coat.

​Jurors at Canterbury Crown Court h​eard that had it not been for ​the thickness of the victim’s clothing and the actions of "exceptionally brave" door staff​ at the nearby Dizzy Donkey club, the attack ​​on January 17 this year would have continued​ and "easily proved" fatal.

Zakrzewska​, of Salisbury Road, Dover, was charged with attempted murder but later denied the offence, as well as one of threatening another with an offensive weapon, and was due to stand trial.

However, Judge Simon James ruled after consider​ing a total of six psychiatric reports and hear​ing expert medical evidence,​ that the paranoid schizophrenic was neither fit to plead nor stand trial.

Therefore, a jury was sworn in to decide if the defendant was responsible for the stabbing - namely, whether she "did the act" - rather than consider the issue of guilt in a case where the evidence against Zakrzewska​ was not only said to be "compelling" but was also undisputed by her defence team.

On passing sentence, Judge James said there was little doubt the defendant posed a significant risk of serious harm to others and, had it not been for her diagnosis, she would have been handed a lengthy jail term, but instead said she would be detained in a psychiatric unit until she is no longer considered a danger and issued a hospital order under the Mental Health Act.

Hayden Day

A jilted ex-boyfriend who sent a picture of a shotgun to a woman and threatened to “blast her windows out” is now spending more time behind bars.

Hayden Day reacted angrily when sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court for a string of offences, including two counts of breaching a non-molestation order, sending communications threatening serious harm and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker.

The court heard how the 28-year-old was subject to an order in March to not contact his former girlfriend, but this was ignored, and just three months later, he created a Facebook account under a different name to message her.

In one message, he wrote: “I love you, never forgot that,” while another said: “You leaving the way you did killed me. To be honest, I was a dog, but just know I will always love you, but shortly after this, a video was sent to the woman, which said: “If anyone is in the road they are getting rammed, watch this.”

In a victim impact statement, Day’s former partner said she still felt controlled by the relationship and she “can’t escape” him, but the charge of sending communications threatening serious harm relates to Day’s ex-partner’s friend.

Day, of Week Street, Maidstone, also created another fake Facebook profile, and sent a message to the friend before sending a picture of a shotgun straight after, adding: “If you have got her there again, you are...” and another read: “I’ll blow your windows out. Don't make me evacuate your whole block.”

When Day was arrested, he also threatened sexual violence, threats to stab, as well as “threatening to bomb Canterbury Cathedral” and struck an officer’s knee.

Day, who had 32 previous convictions for 90 offences since 2009, including robbery, stalking and sending malicious communications, was locked up for two years and three months and made subject to a restraining order banning him from contacting the two women.

Ebunola Abdul

A weed smoker who was told to leave a fellow churchgoer alone went on to stalk and harass two leaders at their place of worship.

Ebunola Abdul had been showering a woman with unwanted gifts and attention, and she turned to her pastor for help.

He told Abdul to leave her alone, but instead, the 26-year-old from Gillingham turned on him, sending threats, bombarding both him and another leader with messages, and even appearing several times at one’s home.

His behaviour was so concerning for one leader and his family that they completely changed their daily routines and had to stop their children walking to school in case they saw him.

Abdul, of Featherby Road, was charged with harassment without violence of Ife Famoriyo between February 28 and March 9, and with stalking Kevin Boakye between February 15 and March 24, but he initially denied the charges, but changed his plea to guilty on September 8, just before he was due to stand trial.

He appeared from custody at Medway Magistrates’ Court on September 25 and during sentencing, magistrates also heard about other incidents where Abdul had been charged with criminal damage after breaking a wing mirror of a van and that he was caught driving an Audi A3 while over the drug drive limit.

Magistrates decided to jail Abdul for 40 weeks for the stalking offence and 12 weeks for the harassment offence, to run concurrently and they also activated the suspended sentence for 11 weeks, to run concurrently, but it was not stated in court why he was given the previous suspended sentence.

Abdul was also fined £80 for each of the criminal damage and drug driving offences and was banned from driving for 12 months.

He was expected to be released in a matter of weeks because of the time he spent on remand.

Julian Martinez

A “cold and calculating” robber who was tackled by a have-a-go hero was jailed - more than two years after he committed the offence.

Julian Martinez had snatched jewellery from a victim in Margate, but the brave bystander wrestled with him and took back the stolen bag.

The 46-year-old got away by car but was later traced by police and he was finally brought to justice and given a three-year sentence earlier this month.

Police had been called at 9.30pm on July 25, 2023, to the incident in Station Road when the victim was driving away from the area while transporting items related to a jewellery business.

The victim was approached on foot by Martinez, who had been following them in a Mercedes and after trying and failing to get into the victim’s vehicle, the robber broke a window before snatching a bag from inside.

However, a member of the public was alerted and wrestled with Martinez, retrieving the bag and returning it to the victim, and Martinez fled in his vehicle.

Martinez, of no fixed address, was later arrested and pleaded guilty to robbery at Canterbury Crown Court.

DC Aimee Gossett said: “Martinez was cold and calculating, following his victim before subjecting them to a frightening ordeal, and I’m pleased he has been given a custodial sentence.”

James Slingsby

A convicted burglar who stalked his mum immediately after leaving prison has been locked up again.

James Slingsby was not welcome at the family home in Canterbury after serving more than two years for burglary, but would often turn up unannounced.

Over 10 days in August - beginning on the day he was freed, August 18 - the 46-year-old, who is also known as Jamie, repeatedly went to her house in St Lawrence Forstal at all hours, and he was charged with stalking after his mother became sick of his behaviour and called the police.

Slingsby, of no fixed address, admitted the offence when he appeared before magistrates in August and returned to Folkestone Magistrates’ Court for sentencing earlier this month.

The court heard that on the day he was released in August after a two-and-a-half-year sentence for burglary, he turned up at the home at 5am that morning.

Judge William Nelson heard Slingsby continued to appear uninvited, returning on August 20 when his mother gave him £30 and three days’ worth of food before sending him away again, but he kept turning up and shouting up to six times a day.

His mother then called the police, as she was said to be sick of the harassment.

Judge Nelson locked him up again for the crime and jailed him for 16 weeks for the offence and issued him with a three-year restraining order banning him from going near his mum’s home or contacting her.

Nicholas Kerswell

A paedophile who sexually assaulted a child was locked up.

Nicholas Kerswell’s brave victim reported the predator to a relative earlier this year, leading to a police report and arrest.

Officers swiftly tracked the 34-year-old down, and he was charged with assaulting a girl under 13 by touching and Kerswell, of Plough Road, Eastchurch, admitted the offence at his first appearance before Medway Magistrates’ Court on July 28.

He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of burglary, related to a break-in at an address in Sheerness on March 28, 2023.

At Maidstone Crown Court, he was jailed for three years for the sexual assault and was given a further 10 months in prison for the burglary.

Kerswell will also be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years on his release, as well as a restraining order.

Investigating officer DC James Horne said: “Kerswell’s appalling actions have had a serious impact on his victim and we’re pleased to see he will serve serious time in prison.

“I’d like to commend the victim for her bravery in coming forward as her account has helped us stop him from offending for the foreseeable future.”

Lee Balchin

An “extremely dangerous” sex offender injected a child with drugs, rendering her almost unconscious during a campaign of “terrifying” abuse.

Lee Balchin was jailed after he forced his young victim to consume cannabis, suspected ecstasy tablets and alcohol before raping her.

The 55-year-old repeatedly preyed on the child between 2000 and 2004, carrying out the abuse in several locations, which included “hideouts” in remote places and the offences were initially reported to the police in 2018, and Balchin was arrested.

An investigation revealed he regularly plied the child with drugs, which included injecting her with amphetamine, and the substances and alcohol would sometimes render her almost unconscious.

Balchin, of Carnation Close, East Malling, was charged with multiple offences but denied any wrongdoing, but following a trial in August, he was found guilty of two charges of rape and two further counts of indecent assault.

He was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court to 15 years' imprisonment earlier this month and will have to serve at least two-thirds of that before he is considered for parole.

DC Lisa Roots said: “Balchin is an extremely dangerous individual who subjected his young victim to a truly harrowing catalogue of appalling and terrifying abuse.

“It is certainly rare to encounter a case where an offender has demonstrated levels of such callous depravity.”

Peter Smith

A “prolific” pervert who tried to avoid responsibility for making and viewing indecent images of children was jailed.

Peter Smith from Maidstone was previously convicted for similar offences in 2021, when he was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SPHO) for using a tablet to search for and make sexually explicit comments on an indecent image of a child.

Officers monitoring his device found evidence of more illegal activity, and the 74-year-old was subsequently arrested and a search of his property led to the seizure of a mobile phone and two tablet devices.

But Smith, formerly of Ellesmere in Shropshire, tried to avoid responsibility for the offences by claiming devices seized for analysis were second-hand and implied previous owners or visitors to his household were the “real” offenders.

However, he pleaded guilty to breaching the SHPO by possessing internet-connected devices without notifying police, but denied responsibility for offences relating to the indecent images.

After a complex investigation and lengthy trial, Smith was convicted at Maidstone Crown Court and sentenced to two years in prison.

DS Si Groves said: “Smith is a prolific offender who displays a deep-rooted propensity to continue acting in the same way, with no regard for the law, nor the victims in his offending.

“Upon his release, Smith will continue to be subject to strict conditions.”

Aakeem Kelliot and Max Alexander

Two men involved in a violent robbery, which saw the victim left with life-threatening stab wounds, were locked up.

Aakeem Kelliot and Max Alexander were inside a property in Luton Road, Chatham, last year when they jumped a man who was staying there with a friend.

The victim was subject to an “onslaught of punches” from 41-year-old Alexander, before Kelliot, 34, stabbed him with a knife he had picked up from the nearby kitchen.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how the victim suffered a collapsed lung and needed to be flown to King’s College Hospital in London for life-saving treatment, and that he was also knifed in the thigh and buttock.

Kelliot and Alexander were due to stand trial in February alongside three other co-defendants, but on the third day, Kelliot entered a guilty plea to an alternative charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) and Alexander was convicted by a jury of robbery.

Kelliot, of no fixed address, had a long list of crimes, including burglary and drug offences, but none of the seriousness of the February 2024 incident, and he had only been released on licence 19 days before the stabbing.

Alexander, also of no fixed address, had a much more serious record than his co-defendant, most notably, in 2019, when he was locked up for beating another man, holding him hostage, and taking his valuables from him during a harrowing ordeal on Christmas Day in Reading.

Kelliot was handed a 10-year and four-month prison sentence, while Alexander was jailed for six years and six months.

Karl Kaynar

An armed robber who threatened shop workers with a broken paving slab and a fake gun, leaving them in “genuine fear for their lives”, was jailed.

Karl Kaynar targeted two businesses in Swanley last year – holding a kitchen knife to the back of one store assistant and threatening another that he would harm them with acid.

At around 9.40pm on March 23, 2024, Kaynar entered Domino’s Pizza in the high street with what appeared to be a firearm and he demanded staff hand over money and, after climbing over a counter, pulled open a cash drawer and stole around £400.

During the ordeal, he shouted threats to shoot and kill people, warning: “Do you want to die?”, but the next day, at around 6.30am, he targeted the Asda Express petrol station in London Road.

He threatened employees with a knife and a broken paving slab, and warned one worker he would throw acid in their face and he left the scene on foot after stealing thousands of pounds worth of cash.

Police arrested Kaynar the next day and searches close to the crime scenes led to the recovery of the handgun he had used, which was identified as being an air weapon.

The 42-year-old, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to two counts of robbery, possession of an imitation firearm, and possession of a knife in a public place and additional theft and drug offences, as well as a further armed robbery, on March 22, which was investigated by the Metropolitan Police.

He was sentenced to a total of nine years and four months’ imprisonment, already having spent 18 months on remand and will also have to serve a further 86 days after breaching a suspended sentence, and on his release from prison he will be subject to an additional licence period of four years.

Jamar Loza

A former Maidstone United footballer was jailed for importing £10k of “laughing gas” and selling it.

Jamar Loza, who appeared for the Stones 63 times between 2016 and 2019, had boasted he was “making so much money he didn’t know what to do with it”, a court heard.

He was arrested twice, just over a week apart in 2022, when he was found with nitrous oxide canisters after being pulled over in his Mercedes while in Norwich and the 31-year-old was released after the first police interview but detained for a second time just eight days later.

Loza, of Lapwing Drive in Costessey, Norfolk, scored 10 times for Maidstone United and was capped four times by Jamaica.

He appeared at Norwich Crown Court where he was jailed for 28 months by Recorder Ruth Brander who detailed how he was “sourcing and supplying” the recreational drug between London and Norfolk.

The court heard he even employed two drivers to help him do deliveries and Recorder Brander said: "It's clear you were directing, buying and selling on a commercial scale.”

Loza’s defence barrister, John Hurlock, said the offences took place more than three years ago and Loza pleaded guilty more than two years ago and that Loza was not just of previous good character but had been of "positive" good character and was now making "positive steps".

Also appearing in court was co-defendant Lydia Punchard, 25, of Church Street, Briston, who was found guilty of one count of supplying nitrous oxide and she received a six-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, and was ordered to carry out 10 days of Rehabilitation Activity Requirement sessions.

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.

Tibor Dobos

A lorry driver chasing a “bigger pay day” was locked up for 13 years after being caught trying to smuggle almost £3 million worth of heroin into the UK via Dover.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that Tibor Dobos, from Hungary, was disappointed he was only carrying 29kg of the drug, which had a street value of £2.9 million.

Messages on his phone to members of an organised crime group showed that he wanted to smuggle 60kg of the Class A substance - almost double the amount he was caught with when he was stopped as he entered the country at Dover in 2022.

Following a National Crime Agency investigation, he was finally brought to justice more than three years later, but Dobos, 54, denied smuggling the heroin, and his trial heard he had made space for the drugs somewhere between Italy and Belgium.

His fingerprints were found on boxes where the heroin was hidden, and he had also sent a message confirming he had concealed the commodity and the messages also referenced the size of the packages and the available space in the vehicle.

Dobos claimed he believed he was smuggling cigarettes, whiskey, and tins of fish, but the jury rejected his explanation and he was found guilty.

Paul Jones, NCA operations manager, said: “Like so many smugglers, Dobos enthusiastically got involved because of greed.

“He wanted to smuggle more than the 29kg he was caught with because he wanted a bumper pay day.”

Stephen Rilley

A child rapist was jailed for 19 years for a campaign of abuse carried out over many years.

Stephen Rilley, of Hastings Avenue, Margate, admitted 11 charges - including multiple counts of rape - in August.

The 63-year-old was jailed earlier this month and will serve an additional three years on licence under the terms of an extended sentence.

He will also remain on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life after an investigation was launched in January when the abuse was reported to the police.

Officers learned that Rilley had used threats of violence to silence his victim.

DC Chris Radley said: “This sentence reflects the gravity of the offences committed and the extent of the suffering endured by the victim.

“I am pleased that such a depraved man has been brought to justice.

“I would like to praise the victim for the courage she has shown in not only coming forward, but for her continued involvement in a challenging investigation.”

Roy Humphreys

A “vile sexual predator” who targeted children over the course of several decades was jailed for 22 years.

Roy Humphreys, from Gillingham, abused two young boys in the 70s through his association with one of their relatives.

He befriended them and gained their trust before committing multiple sexual offences and around 30 years later, he gained access to a third young child and abused them over an extended period.

His last victim disclosed their ordeal to a relative in 2020 and the police were contacted, and Humphreys was detained by detectives.

Following his arrest, the previous two victims came forward and gave details of their abuse to investigators and Humphreys, of Broadway, Gillingham, was later charged with 18 sexual offences against children.

He pleaded not guilty but on June 20 was convicted by a jury of 17 of the indictments, including rape, gross indecency and indecent assault, at Maidstone Crown Court.

On Wednesday, October 15, the 82-year-old was sentenced at the same court to 22 years’ imprisonment.

He was already subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which will remain in place indefinitely.

Danny Gibson

An intoxicated driver spent the day drinking at the pub and smoking cannabis before killing a 71-year-old cyclist in a fatal crash and fleeing the scene.

Danny Gibson, who was described as “drunk as a skunk” by his parents, had been drinking and smoking cannabis before he took his mum’s car and collided with David Prentice on a back road of a quiet Kent village.

At around 4.45pm on October 18, 2022, Gibson was driving a yellow Renault Scenic in The Street, Wormshill, near Sittingbourne and Hollingbourne, when he hit the pensioner with such force that he was thrown over a 5ft hedge.

Gibson, who at the time lived in the same village as his victim, was due to stand trial in April charged with causing death by careless driving while unfit through drink or drugs, causing death by driving without a licence, and causing death by careless driving while uninsured.

However, after a jury was sworn, the 38-year-old changed his pleas to guilty before the case was opened by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

At a sentencing hearing at Maidstone Crown Court, Gibson was slammed by Judge Oliver Saxby KC for his “utterly despicable” decision to leave the scene of the crash, resulting in Mr Prentice’s body not being found for hours.

Gibson, of Oast Court, Sittingbourne, had initially tried to shift the blame of the fatal crash onto his father, who was sent to retrieve CDs from the car, unaware Mr Prentice had died, and was spotted at the scene by a witness.

Sentencing Gibson to 12 and a half years in custody and banning him from driving for 20 years, Judge Saxby KC said: “By your utterly despicable decision not to stay at scene to help, Mr Prentice’s body lay in the field for four hours.”

Kevin Scarnell

A sex offender travelled to Kent hoping to meet a boy after bombarding him with obscene messages, images and videos over several weeks.

Kevin Scarnell, 59, repeatedly contacted the young teenager between March 28 and April 24, 2025, using dating and social media apps.

He sent sexually explicit messages describing his preferences and demanded indecent pictures while urging the child to meet him in a car park on the outskirts of Maidstone.

Scarnell told the boy how “excited” he was and even got a haircut the day before to “look sharp” for their meeting and in April he travelled from his home in Fellows Road, Camden, north London, to the agreed location near West Park Road.

Officers on proactive patrols noticed his blue Ford Fiesta circling the car park and stopped him after he failed to explain why he was there and his mobile phone was seized, and evidence confirmed he was intent on sexually assaulting the child.

Scarnell later admitted arranging sexual activity with a child, engaging in sexual communication with a child, and causing a child to watch sexual activity.

The paedophile was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on October 16 to two years and eight months in prison.

Steven Harwood-Brown

A singer “saw red” on the night his town centre bar was closing down and thrust a broken bottle into a man’s head.

A court heard Steven Harwood-Brown threw one of his employees to the floor at Folkestone venue Picklebacks, before stabbing Hossein Haderbashlu, who had intervened to stop the fight.

He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which restricts his contact with children and his use of technology to prevent further offences.

The dad-of-two, drunk and bare-chested, had been in a “terrible emotional state” and “lashed out”, leaving Mr Haderbashlu badly wounded.

Harwood-Brown was arrested and bailed - and over the past year was regularly singing at local bars and charity events.

But earlier this month the 32-year-old was jailed at Canterbury Crown Court.

Prosecutor Ben Wild described how the violence erupted at Picklebacks in the early hours of August 18 last year when Harwood Brown then grabs a glass bottle and smashed it on the bar and shoved it into Mr Haderbashlu’s head and neck area.

He was arrested and gave a no-comment police interview before pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent at a case management hearing in August this year.

Harwood-Brown, of The Meade, Hawkinge, was jailed for three years.

Lucifer Hunter

A paedophile who posed as a schoolboy while "​manipulating, abusing and blackmailing" girls as young as 10 through online gaming and social media ​sites ​cried and apologised to his sobbing mum as he was jailed.

​Twisted Lucifer Hunter catfished his victims into believing he was a 16-year-old​ Year 11 pupil before bombarding them ​via Xbox, TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram with​ highly sexualised chats and requests for ​explicit photos.

The 24-year-old often referred to himself as "Daddy" in the deviant conversations and even recorded himself masturbating while on FaceTime to one girl.

If they blocked him or refused his demands - often to perform sex acts on themselves or send him photos dressed in school uniform or just tights - he would pester them via other online accounts or become verbally aggressive and offensive.

One girl was sinisterly warned by Hunter that he knew someone who would rape her, while another was told she would be the one to go to prison while spoke of receiving death threats from him and was so scared that when police tracked her down after his arrest she "screeched" at the mention of his name, began to shake and ​described him ​as "a predator".

Hunter, of The Stade, Folkestone, also threatened to reveal details of what the girls had engaged in to their families and to post the photos he had solicited on the internet and following his arrest in December 2023.

He later pleaded guilty to a total of 14 offences relating to online child sexual activity, sexual communication, sending indecent or offensive communications, threatening to disclose private, sexual photos with intent to cause distress and possessing indecent images.

At his sentencing hearing at Canterbury Crown Court Judge Simon Taylor KC heard how Hunter preyed on four girls aged 10 to 15 over a four-year period, when he was aged between 18 and 22.

Jailing him for five years, Judge Taylor told the sex offender he had "lied, connived, degraded, threatened and blackmailed" his four child victims, and only stopped because he was caught, and he also made him subject to a 15-year sexual harm prevention order and indefinite sex offender notification requirements.

Raheem Ruhambira and Orion Parks

A 16-year-old boy was stabbed several times with a knife in a “shocking and deliberate attack” after leaving his house to collect a takeaway.

Orion Parks, Raheem Ruhambira and Abdul Kieta, along with a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, went to the victim’s home in John Street, Rochester, on Tuesday, December 10 last year.

He had decided to leave through the back gate to collect a takeaway on his bike, when he saw Kieta trying to climb the fence and as a result, he fled but was chased by the group and stabbed several times with a knife, which one of the attackers then dropped at the scene.

The young boy managed to reach a nearby off-licence, where the emergency services were called, and he was taken to a London hospital and discharged three days later.

Kieta, 18, was arrested at his home address in Atlee Drive, Dartford. Further enquiries led police to arrest Ruhambira, 19, at a property in Cooper Road, Dartford, with the 17-year-old arrested at a property in London and a knife found inside the address with the victim’s blood on it.

Parks, 20, was also arrested at his home address in Overy Street, Dartford, where officers found a machete in a drawer and all four were later charged and following a trial were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court earlier this month.

Kieta was given an 18-month rehabilitation order after being found guilty of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and wounding without intent.

Ruhambria was jailed for five years and given an extended licence period of three years after being found guilty of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and wounding with intent.

The 17-year-old was found guilty of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and wounding with intent and given an 18-month youth rehabilitation order and Parks was found guilty of wounding without intent and locked up for two years and three months in a Young Offenders’ Institute.

Jay Harris

Footage showed the moment a drug dealer fled as police bashed down his front door before finding cocaine and weapons under the floorboards.

Jay Harris used multiple associates to run away to Devon when officers raided his house in Knockholt, near Sevenoaks, on December 7.

Prior to their arrival, the 29-year-old was captured on video evading arrest by fleeing through the rear garden and teams were deployed to pursue him while officers carried out a warrant at the property in Harrow Road.

Searches led to the discovery of a safe in a hide, which had been cut into floorboards in the bedroom, with a flap cut into the carpet to allow access and officers recovered just under five kilograms of cocaine, more than £30k, a firearm, six rounds of ammunition, air weapons, knives, a knuckleduster, a mobile phone and comprehensive stock-taking notes.

Detectives carried out extensive inquiries, assisted by Devon and Cornwall Police, and found the drug dealer just 36 hours later at a petrol station and was subsequently charged with drugs and weapons offences.

He denied his involvement but later pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine, possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate and possession of criminal property, namely cash.

He was sentenced to 10 years and three months’ imprisonment at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday, October 21.

Investigating officer, DC Lottie Bishop, said: “A thorough investigation by Kent Police detectives uncovered a raft of evidence, including forensics, that proved his involvement as a key player in a drugs ring supplying Class As to Kent and London.”

Jesse Barton

A prolific thief was swiftly jailed after breaching a court order stopping him from entering shops across a town.

Jesse Barton was sentenced two days after being arrested.

Barton, 37, had been issued with a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) in August 2024 that banned him from multiple retailers in Ashford, including Ashford Designer Outlet and the Co-op at Brookfield Court.

Despite the restrictions, he visited the grocery store and returned twice the next day, stealing food, alcohol, and household goods.

He also targeted the town’s Loudon Way Co-op branch, from where he took £180 worth of items without paying for them as well as making off with clothes valued at £650 from a retailer at Ashford Designer Outlet at Kimberley Way.

Barton, of no fixed address, was traced and arrested later that day and was subsequently charged and pleaded guilty to five counts of shoplifting and four breaches of a CBO when he appeared before Folkestone magistrates earlier this month.

He was sentenced the same day to five months’ imprisonment.

Inspector Sarah Williams said: “In targeting these retailers, Barton has shown a blatant disregard for the court order he has been issued, which is in place to protect businesses and communities.”

Shane Doyle

A violent offender who pushed a woman down the stairs and punched another during a rampage at a party to mark his release from prison was put back behind bars.

Shane Doyle had only been out of custody for a short time when he attended a gathering in Lunedale Road on the Fleet Estate in Dartford.

But the celebratory bash on February 8 soon turned violent after the 44-year-old assaulted two women and a man and police were called to the property at around 8.30pm where they found one of the women at the bottom of the stairs.

She had been grabbed by the throat, pushed down, kicked and punched during the fracas and suffered cuts to her face and arm, a fractured hand, and a dislocated knee.

Another woman suffered internal bruising after being punched while trying to shield the first victim and called police before Doyle snatched her phone, but earlier that evening the thug had also punched a male guest in the chest, forcing him to leave.

Doyle, of no fixed address, was later charged with grievous bodily harm, two counts of assault by beating, possession of a bladed article, possession of an offensive weapon and two counts of assault on an emergency worker.

He denied the offences but was convicted after a trial, and he was sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison at Maidstone Crown Court.

A restraining order was issued to protect the three victims.

Deeq Mohammed and Patrick George

A pair of drug dealers who used the home of a vulnerable person to run their county lines operation were jailed.

Deeq Mohammed, 20, and Patrick George, 29, were sentenced after admitting supplying Class A substances in Ramsgate between June and July.

Police on patrol in the Hardres Street area of the town on July 14 spotted what appeared to be a drugs deal and followed Mohammed into a nearby property.

When officers arrived, he tried to leave by the back door, where George was waiting, but both were detained and searched.

Packages of heroin and crack cocaine were seized from George, while Mohammed was found with a quantity of cash and a mobile phone and the address, where a vulnerable resident was living, was also searched and officers discovered further items linked to drug dealing and another phone that George had access to.

Inquiries into the seized devices revealed the pair were operating as part of a county lines network supplying heroin and crack cocaine and they were charged the following day.

At Canterbury Crown Court on October 9, George - of no fixed address - was jailed for two years and eight months after admitting possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

Mohammed, of Westvale Mews in Action, London, was ordered to be detained for four years and eight months in a young offenders’ institution after admitting being concerned in the supply of the same drugs.

Billy Bird

Bodycam footage showed the moment a prolific thief was arrested by police as he hid under a bed.

Billy Bird carried out a two-week spree of thefts across Faversham and Ashford, targeting multiple stores and stealing hundreds of pounds worth of alcohol and food.

However, the 27-year-old’s crimes caught up with him when officers swooped on Whiting Crescent, Faversham, on September 5, and as a result, he’s been banned from entering multiple stores, including Poundland in Faversham and all Kent Co-ops.

It follows a fortnight of repeated shoplifting when he stole a bottle of whiskey from Tesco in Faversham and swiped more alcohol worth almost £200 from Sainsbury’s in Bysing Wood Road.

Just over a week later, he took groceries worth £75 from the Co-op in Hunters Avenue, Ashford, and returned later that afternoon to steal more items and later that evening, he went back to Tesco in Faversham and swiped alcohol valued at £212.

In the early hours of the following morning, Bird refuelled his vehicle at the Thanet Way services to the value of £80.06 and drove off without making any attempt to pay and on September 4, he again targeted Sainsbury’s in Faversham, stealing three bottles of vodka.

He was charged with seven counts of theft from a shop and later pleaded guilty to all offences, including driving without a licence or insurance and trespassing on a railway line.

On October 16, Bird was sentenced to eight weeks in prison at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court and was also made subject to a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order prohibiting him from entering all Co-op stores in Kent as well as other stores in the areas he stole from.

Harley Webb and Callum Burren

A car theft gang was broken up after police found the chop shop where they were dismantling stolen vehicles.

Harley Webb, 36, and Callum Burren, 24, were sent to prison after stealing at least eight Ford Fiestas in just five months from locations across Kent.

Earlier this month, Webb was sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison, while Burren received one year and three months.

The two men targeted keyless vehicles from outside people's homes and car parks between July and November 2024 when they gained entry to the vehicles by using an on-board diagnostics tool that bypassed the security systems.

Most of the offences happened around Tunbridge Wells, but some also took place in Gravesend and Ramsgate and officers traced the stolen vehicles to an industrial site near Bedgebury Pinetum in Goudhurst, where the pair were breaking them down for parts.

Webb was apprehended at the site on November 15, when officers recovered stolen cars, spare parts, and a machine for making number plates.

Burren was arrested a few weeks later, and both suspects were remanded in custody.

At Maidstone Crown Court, Webb, of Sherwood Road, Tunbridge Wells, admitted conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and Burren, from Newmarket in Suffolk, told police he had acted under duress but pleaded guilty to the same charge, plus driving without a licence or insurance.

Gary and Stuart Peck

Crooks were sentenced for their roles in a £22 million tax fraud uncovered by police and HMRC.

The corrupt group, four of whom were from Kent, set up fake labour supply companies to keep VAT payments that should have gone to HMRC.

A complex investigation found they also kept tax deductions from subcontractors that were meant to be paid under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) tax system.

Following a trial at Southwark Crown Court, they were all found guilty of cheating the public revenue.

Among them were Gary Peck, 44, of Maidstone Road in Chatham, who was jailed for four years, while his brother Stuart Peck, 42, of Pilgrims Road in Halling, received two and a half years, and both were also banned from being company directors.

The other game members were either locked up for their involvement in the scam or were given suspended sentences.

Akeem Badmos

A former nurse who groped a lone woman near a shopping centre whispered, “You’re not like the other ones who usually scream.”

Akeem Badmos, 42, spotted the stranger before subjecting her to the terrifying ordeal near Ashford Designer Outlet during the afternoon.

Badmos was jailed at Canterbury Crown Court where his brave victim described how she was made to feel ”like a piece of meat”, and describing herself as a confident and happy 19-year-old before the attack, she said in a victim impact statement: “That all changed at 3.15pm when that man grabbed me, I felt abused, disgusted, like I was branded a piece of meat.”

It was in 2023 when Badmos’ attention was drawn to the woman while he was driving, and he then parked, ran over to her, and “grabbed hold of her in a bear-hug manner,” Recorder Daniel Stevenson told the hearing: “You placed your hands underneath and on top of her breasts and you said to her, ‘You’re not like the other ones who usually scream.’”

The judge told how the woman tried to get away, but Badmos clung to her arm with such force that she sustained significant bruising butduring his trial at the Maidstone Crown Court earlier this year, Badmos tried to play down the incident, claiming he had merely tapped the woman on the shoulder.

However, a jury saw through his lies, finding him guilty of assault and sexual assault.

At his sentencing hearing earlier this month, the judge heard that at the time of the offending, he had been working as a nurse, while also training to be a plumber.

Badmos, of Eden Avenue, Chatham, was jailed for two years and will be released no later than halfway through his sentence and the remainder to be served on licence.

Jason Howe

A drink-fuelled guest at an 18th birthday party who became “enraged like the Hulk” and attacked several members of one family, leaving relationships “torn”, was jailed.

Jason Howe lashed out at as many as five people during the celebrations - but was heard to mutter “10 years for one punch” as he was led to a court cell at the conclusion of his sentencing hearing on Friday, October 24.

Jurors at his trial had heard how the 31-year-old threw numerous punches as well as a gin glass in the fracas at a private address in Newington High Street on June 29 last year.

One partygoer who had tried to act as peacemaker was left unconscious on the ground with a brain injury, while his son suffered a gash to his head, and others hit that night by the gym receptionist included his boyfriend’s father and a woman as she rang for an ambulance, Maidstone Crown Court was told.

Howe, of Nelson Road, Gillingham, later argued the alleged violence had not happened, been exaggerated or had occurred in self-defence.

But he was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Heath Bryant, wounding his son Matthew Bryant with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, assault by beating and battery in respect of Justin Bryant, one of assault causing actual bodily harm to Matthew Morsley, and one of affray.

By the time of the family get-together, Howe, who has previous convictions for robbery and violence - many committed while behind bars - had only been out of prison for 11 months, having served a 12-year sentence in full and imposed for rape in 2011.

At his sentencing hearing, one witness, whose children were present, told the jury Howe then erupted "like the Hulk".

On passing a 10-year extended sentence, Recorder Vivian Walters said the sentence comprises a seven-year jail term, of which Howe will have to serve ​two-thirds​ ​before he can apply for parole, and a three-year additional licence period and he was also made subject to a 15-year restraining order.

Lenard Coates

A burglar posing as an Amazon delivery driver hacked off a man’s thumb with a machete in front of a child.

Lenard Coates, 23, forced his way into a flat in Square Hill Road, Maidstone, shortly after 9am on March 21 this year.

Wearing a high-visibility jacket and carrying a parcel as a prop, he tricked his way into the block before confronting a family inside one of the properties and once inside, Coates threatened a man, woman and their young child with a machete.

He then launched an unprovoked attack, inflicting severe injuries to the man’s hand and stealing £2,500 in cash and a watch and police and paramedics were called to the scene and the victim was taken to hospital for specialist reconstructive surgery.

He suffered life-changing injuries, including the loss of his thumb.

Officers quickly identified Coates’ van and located it within two hours of the break-in and forensic work and CCTV footage led to his arrest and subsequent charge.

He later admitted aggravated burglary, causing grievous bodily harm, and being in possession of a knife in a public place.

Coates, of no fixed address, was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court to eight years in prison with an extended two-year licence period and was also given a 15-year restraining order.