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 murderers, paedophiles, thieves, thugs and abusers who were locked up in March.

Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss

A “highly sexualised” killer seen on CCTV going to the gym and buying snacks just hours before brutally murdering a woman walking her dog was jailed for life.

Footage showed Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss, 21, carrying out everyday activities in Birchington on the same day he ambushed Claire Knights and subjected her to a violent sexual assault and fatal beating.

Mr Justice Garnham handed him a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years and 183 days at Canterbury Crown Court which means he would be in his 40s when he’s released.

The judge told Lawrence Van-Pooss, of Craven Close, Margate, that he was responsible for an "utterly terrifying and merciless" premeditated and targeted attack on Ms Knights and said that as she tried to fight him off she would have realised that she would die, and having initially used his fists to strike her, he then stamped on her head as she lay on the ground.

Lawrence Van-Pooss launched an unprovoked attack on Ms Knights as she walked with her dog along a footpath while she was wearing a bikini and her sun hat.

The court heard he forced her off that footpath and attacked her in a grassy area adjacent to a dyke and set back from the footpath and then carried out a violent sexual assault on her before assaulting and striking her around the head and then stamping on her head causing catastrophic brain injuries.

As well as ensuring her body was hidden in an area of tall grass and bulrushes, Lawrence Van-Pooss, who pleaded guilty to the offence of murder last year and another of operating equipment under clothing to observe another without consent and for the purposes of sexual gratification, in relation to a separate incident, set about disposing of the evidence, including his victim's belongings and even bloodstained grass, by throwing them in the dyke too.

Lawrence Van-Pooss had already served 501 days in custody since his arrest which will be deducted from his minimum term, but was warned that only having served that term, he would only be eligible to apply for parole.

Howa Ramadam

A vicious daughter repeatedly kicked and punched her mum's head for so long during a terrifying ordeal she was forced to pause for breath.

Howa Ramadam, 36, brutally knocked her mother to the floor inside her Margate home before raining blows for what felt like "10 - 15 minutes".

Such was the duration of the beating, Ramadam, whose behaviour was described as "like an animal", even took a rest before continuing the abuse and at her sentencing hearing, Canterbury Crown Court heard Ramadam, of Ramsgate, woke Susan McDermott at 4am by repeatedly booting her door.

When the 66-year-old let her in, Ramadam, who sought money for drugs, hurled and smashed up household items, before her actions turned more sinister, when she went to the kitchen for a cigarette, Ms McDermott was able to sneak upstairs to phone the police.

But describing the chilling moment Ramadam confronted her shortly after, prosecutor Peter Forbes said: "She punched her mother to the side of the head, grabbing her hair”, and the court heard this caused her to fall and after kicking and punching her head "multiple times", Ramadam had to "take a break to catch her breath," the lawyer said.

Ms McDermott, the court also heard, felt like she "was being attacked for 10 - 15 minutes", when Ramadam terrifyingly told her "I'm going to kill you tonight", and having suffered bruising and swelling to her face, the brave mum later told officers her daughter had been in a drug-fueled rage and behaved like an animal.

Following the beating last October, Ramadam, of Waterloo Place, also stole her mum's iPhone and left the property - but soon returned shouting and swearing and when police arrived and put Ramadam in handcuffs she spat in PC Saint's face, sunk her teeth into his finger, drawing blood, and urinated on him.

Ramadam, who has 22 previous convictions, 16 of which are for assaulting police, pleaded guilty in January to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assaulting an emergency worker, theft of the iPhone and criminal damage of some household items and at her sentencing hearing earlier this month, she was jailed for three years and was also handed a five-year restraining order.

Jack Hickey

A paedophile who asked his victim to send him explicit photographs while wearing a school uniform was jailed.

Sex offender Jack Hickey, 28, was described as a “predator” for trying to speak to children via online messaging platforms in his attempts to find a “secret boyfriend”.

In November 2023, Hickey, of Woodlands Avenue, Snodland, created a profile for Chat Avenue, an online chatroom service, before proactively targeting a user he believed to be a teenage boy and after convincing his victim to communicate via Snapchat, which has privacy features such as disappearing messages, Hickey began sending them pictures and sexually explicit messages, including an indecent image of himself.

Digital analysts were able to identify Hickey as the offender and attended his address where they were able to match some wallpaper and missing coving in an image he had sent from his bedroom. He was arrested at the scene on November 30 and made the subject of a sex offenders’ notification requirement while he awaited sentencing.

Despite this, the following year he created another Snapchat account to talk to what he believed was another teenage boy and once more, Hickey bombarded his target with lewd messages, repeatedly asking them to take part in video calls and take explicit photographs while wearing a school uniform.

Hickey eventually arranged to meet his victim in Canterbury after dark but was met by officers who arrested him again and remanded him in custody. He pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, causing a child to look at an image of a person engaging in sexual activity, making indecent photographs, arranging a child sex offence, attempting to meet a child and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

Appearing at Maidstone Crown Court for his sentencing hearing, he was locked up for four years and 10 months.

Investigating officer DC Steph Kirkin said: “Hickey is a predator who targeted victims he believed to be young and vulnerable and he repeatedly sent his victims a barrage of lewd messages in a bid to coerce them into sharing content for his own gratification.”

Jamie Bennett, Levi Taylor, Jamie Turner, Shakai Wilson, Maisey Barrett and Joe Raven

A gang supplying drugs including cocaine, MDMA and cannabis to north and west Kent were jailed.

Detectives said they dismantled the “Blue Eyes” organised crime group, which was established by Jamie Bennett in 2019, who employed several dealers to supply drugs across the county by giving them stolen cars with false number plates to use for deliveries.

Croydon Crown Court heard in 2020 investigators identified the phone numbers used by Bennett’s dealers and, over the following two years, several were tracked down and arrested in possession of drugs whilst travelling in either Kent or south London.

Bennett was detained on three occasions while a search of the address he shared with his partner, Sinead Taylor, led to the seizure of almost 5,000 MDMA tablets, around 2,000 class C tablets, £5,600 in cash, cocaine and ketamine and officers also seized two stolen cars and then rounded up others - many of whom were in stolen cars on false number plates whilst carrying drug supplies.

Those detained included Jeffrey Reeves and Levi Taylor in Orpington; Joe Raven on two occasions while in Gravesend and Dartford; Shakai Wilson in Bromley and Jamie Turner in Wainscott and examination of text messages from seized phones also identified that Bennett’s partner Sinead Taylor and Maisey Barrett from Chatham were also involved and both women were arrested and later charged.

Across two days of sentencing at the same court, Bennett, 36, of Mosyer Drive, Orpington, was jailed for eight years and three months; Turner, 27, of Beddington Road, Orpington, and Levi Taylor, 29, of The Street, Adisham, Canterbury, both received three years and eight months with Turner’s prison term including time for breach of a suspended sentence.

Wilson, 21, of Gillmans Road, Orpington, received three years and six months; Raven, 23, of Estuary Road, Sheerness, was jailed for two years and eight months; while Barrett, 28, of Bryant Street, Chatham, was jailed for five years, with her imprisonment including a sentence for an unconnected offence of wounding with intent.

Reeves, 43, of Ryarsh Crescent, Orpington, and Sinead Taylor, 31, of no fixed address, were given suspended sentences.

Eric Da Silva-Soares

A “very dangerous” man who knifed a woman in the stomach before stabbing her boyfriend in the face sent her a text the next day admitting his actions were unforgivable.

Eric Da Silva-Soares carried out the brutal attack in Dartford town centre after his feelings for a woman he was infatuated with were not reciprocated.

During the evening of August 31 last year the woman, who was in her 20s, was with her partner and another man in Spital Street when she received a telephone call from a friend who said Da Silva-Soares was in town and had threatened to kill them if she did not leave her partner.

Around 10 minutes later the woman saw him approach while carrying a bag and Da Silva-Soares then pulled a knife from it and stabbed the victim in her stomach and left arm and when her partner, also in his 20s, intervened to protect her, he was repeatedly stabbed and when their friend tried to pull the attacker away, he was also stabbed in the back.

Da Silva-Soares then returned to stabbing the woman’s partner, including his face, until all three victims managed to escape to a nearby McDonald’s where staff at the establishment locked the doors to prevent the offender from following them and Da Silva-Soares then fled the scene.

The three victims were taken to hospital where they underwent surgery for their serious injuries, with the injuries to the woman’s partner described as life-changing while police launched a manhunt to track down 29-year-old Da Silva-Soares who had travelled north to avoid being arrested.

But his efforts to escape were thwarted when Kent Police detectives directed officers at Edinburgh Airport to detain him as he went to catch a flight out of the country and Da Silva-Soares, of Wharfside Close in Erith, was charged and pleaded guilty at Woolwich Crown Court to two attempted murders and unlawful wounding.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment, with the judge considering him a dangerous offender who will have to serve a minimum of 12 years and 10 months before he becomes eligible for parole.

Matthew Byrne and Beau Devlin

A drug smuggler who plotted to bring in £190 million worth of cocaine from South America and break out of prison once arrested was jailed alongside his partner in crime.

Matthew Byrne, 44, from Sevenoaks, and Beau Devlin, 33, from east London, would have earned millions by flooding UK streets with vast quantities of the class A drug which they discussed disguising in banana shipments.

Police caught the criminals through their messages on an encrypted communications platform, EncroChat, and the pair were jailed for a combined time of 40 years earlier this month.

Byrne used the handles 'slickvalley' and 'officialcleaner' and Devlin was known as 'scalpcleaner' and chats showed their attempts to import around five tons of cocaine between March and June 2020 via ports in Europe including Antwerp and the UK.

They also discussed smuggling between five and 10 tons of the drug at a time during the previous eight years and as well as smuggling, Byrne plotted to break free from a prison van after he was arrested using his significant contacts in the criminal world.

The duo also had a detailed knowledge of cocaine smuggling routes, methods and contacts, including South American cocaine wholesalers and they mostly used banana shipments to cover their smuggling and created companies to act as fronts.

Byrne also traded in weapons and discussed buying Mac 11 submachine guns and he supplied contact Jody Hall, 51, of Carters Hill Close, Mottingham, and arranged for a third party known as 'The Boxer' to inspect the firearms to confirm if they were a good investment, but Hall was arrested while collecting a firearm Byrne was selling via another contact and was locked up for 12 years in 2020 after admitting firearms and drugs offences.

Byrne and Devlin pleaded guilty to drugs and money laundering offences at Maidstone Crown Court and later at their sentencing hearing, Byrne was handed a 21-and-a-half year sentence while Devlin was jailed for 17 years and firearms charges against Byrne will lie on file.

Sasan Rabat

A prisoner who “brutally” and “barbarically” beat a fellow inmate to death after complaining about his poor hygiene and TV being too loud at night was jailed.

Sasan Rabat has been handed a life sentence for the fatal attack on his 24-year-old victim at HMP Maidstone.

Stefan Adi was struck as many as 30 times and his horrific injuries included one to the jugular vein, another which tore open his windpipe, multiple skull fractures and bleeding to his brain.

The damage was so severe that he could not have survived even with immediate medical intervention, and his lifeless body was discovered in Rabat's cell, wrapped in a blanket and hidden behind a locker and table and prison guards who made the grim discovery described his attacker as being "totally calm with no flicker of emotion".

At Maidstone Crown Court earlier this month, Judge Philip Statman handed Rabat a life sentence with a minimum term of 19 years and he was told the 27-year-old had improvised two weapons in a case which involved an “extreme level of violence” and which had deprived two young children of their father.

DI Ross Gurden of Kent Police said: “The actions of Rabat were truly barbaric as he subjected his helpless victim to a prolonged and brutal ordeal and Mr Adi suffered up to 30 horrific injuries, including to his head, face and neck, which he simply had no chance of surviving.”

During a two-week trial at Maidstone Crown Court in September last year, the convict accepted inflicting Adi's fatal wounds but denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but a jury of seven women and five men were unanimous in returning a guilty verdict to the charge of murder.

The court heard how the savage attack was carried out while both were being held at HMP Maidstone in December 2021 and had occupied adjacent single-bed cells and Rabat had only been there a week after being jailed for 15 months for burglary.

Daniel Coombs

A former lifeguard who “violently” shook a toddler he was babysitting and punched his legs and hips was jailed.

Daniel Coombs, 32, faced a child cruelty charge after he was seen by his then-partner hurting the 18-month-old boy in his own home in Sittingbourne on August 26, 2023.

As a result of the ordeal, the tot was kept in hospital for seven days to assess the impact of the shaking and the family of the youngster told KentOnline how the whole situation has been “extremely difficult to process.”

His parents said: “The effect it has had on our son and our family as a whole has been immense and seeing our son go from a cheeky, fun-loving, inquisitive typical little boy, to one that is clingy, fearful, and cautious, whilst experiencing night terrors, is indescribable.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard during his sentencing hearing that Coombs, of no fixed address but from the Gillingham area, was babysitting two children with his ex-partner, who was friends with their parents when she saw him with his hands on the child’s head shaking him violently and she described it as being four occasions of shaking and she also saw him punching him with a clenched fist.

The court heard how the partner then grabbed the 18-month-old and took a moment to consider her obligations and responsibilities to the child and his family and spoke with the youngster’s mother about what had happened. The child was then admitted to hospital and the police called.

Coombs was sentenced to 20 months in prison, which was reduced to 17 months as per the credit given due to his guilty plea.

He will serve 40% of that sentence and will remain on licence until its conclusion.

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 February, click here.

Jack Holland-Batt

An armed robber was jailed for six years after threatening shop workers with a knife.

Jack Holland-Batt first went to a pharmacy in Canterbury Street, Gillingham, where he demanded cash from a member of staff.

During the incident, which took place at around noon on November 25 last year, the victim was threatened with a knife and ended up handing over £20 from the till, however, Holland-Batt became more aggressive and wanted more money.

He left the premises after he was told there was no more available and the 31-year-old then walked to an amusement arcade in Green Street where he pulled the knife from his waistband and threatened an employee and wanted money from the safe but when he was told there wasn’t any he walked out.

He did the same at another business in the High Street, where a distressed shop worker went to a back room stating she would get the keys for the till – but when she returned he had left, and following the robberies, Holland-Batt contacted Kent Police confessing to his crimes but not specifying where he was.

But officers attended an address he frequented and arrested him as he approached the front door and he tried to give a false name and was taken into custody.

Holland-Batt, of no fixed address, was later charged with two robberies, an attempted robbery, and possessing a bladed article in a public place.

On Tuesday, March 11, he pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court where he was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.

Ian Collard

A convicted paedophile who downloaded banned dating apps was locked up.

Ian Collard was subjected to a sexual harm prevention order after he tried to engage in sexual activity with a young girl back in 2018.

As a result, the 34-year-old was banned from accessing the internet without informing the authorities and should have his devices inspected by officers when asked.

However, Collard, of Station Road, Gillingham, was found to have broken the terms of that court order after officers, during a routine search, discovered he was using Snapchat and using different aliases on various dating apps.

He was arrested on May 17 and charged the same day with seven breaches of the SHPO and three breaches of the sex offenders’ notification requirements. He pleaded guilty, and earlier this month at Maidstone Crown Court he was sentenced to three years in prison.

PC Leona Valsler said: “Sexual Harm Prevention Orders are put in place so that vulnerable people can be protected from predatory behaviour by criminals such as Collard.

“Collard ignored the conditions placed upon him and persisted in attempting to use social media as a way to make contact with potential victims.

“I’m pleased he has received a custodial sentence and hope it serves as a reminder that our investigators - who regularly carry out checks on convicted offenders - will hunt down anyone who breaches legislation and will bring them before the courts to face justice.”

Liam Axam

​A young paedophile who was caught on camera abusing one of his two victims was told by a judge he "destroyed childhoods and innocence".

Canterbury Crown Court heard that although Liam Axam's deviant behaviour had been deliberately obscured by his jacket, suspicions were raised and police alerted

Confessing to his depravity, he told officers he had both "a good side and one which caused chaos" - and then revealed he had lied when confronted several years earlier about molesting a different child.

But, in spite of having learning difficulties and a number of behavioural disorders, 22-year-old Axam was jailed after a report concluded he poses a continuing danger to children and vulnerable females.

At his sentencing hearing, prosecutor Paul Valder said Axam was 15 when he abused his first victim in August 2018 and although he was spoken to by police and social services at the time, he denied any wrongdoing and no further action was taken.

However, it was following his arrest five years later that he owned up to all of his depravity and detailing how the abuse of his second victim came to light, Mr Valder explained that Axam, who previously lived in Dover, had been recorded by a security camera sitting bedside a youngster before moving closer.

He then put an arm around the child, whispered, and draped his jacket over their laps to conceal the sexual assault and when police arrived to arrest him, he greeted them by asking "Can I confess?" before revealing the extent of the child's ordeal, some of which had not been captured by the camera.

Axam pleaded guilty to two offences of sexual assault of a child and one of assault by penetration and was jailed for three years with a further six months added to any licence period following his release and was also made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and will be required to sign on the sex offender register for the same period.

Nina Mercer

A woman who callously stabbed her partner to death as he ate pizza, leaving a large kitchen knife embedded 23cm deep in his back, was jailed for life.

Branded "a liar with no moral compass" by Judge Oliver Saxby KC, convicted murderer Nina Mercer, 43, was told on March 18, that she will have to serve a minimum of 17 years before she can apply for parole.

Jurors at Maidstone Crown Court took approximately five hours to reject her case that she had acted in self-defence when she attacked 61-year-old Alan Tomkins, a convicted child sex offender, in his Strood flat.

After friends concerned for the dad-of-two's welfare had alerted police, officers found him dead on the floor of his hallway on July 26 last year, three days after drug addict Mercer had inflicted the fatal wounds.

She had fled, only to return within an hour of the murder with a friend, Lee Robinson, who shamelessly stole the dead man's wallet and bank card before using it to buy groceries and obtain cash, Mercer also stopped long enough to wash her hair before leaving the flat for a second time, using the victim's money in the aftermath of his brutal death to also buy drugs and McDonald's.

Mercer, of Gun Lane, Strood, had denied murder but was found guilty at the end of a four-week trial and imposing the mandatory life sentence and minimum term, Judge Saxby told her there was evidence she had not only been physically aggressive to Mr Tomkins in the past but also to other previous partners, one of whom was said to have been left "a shadow of himself" by her abuse.

Robinson, 45, of Frindsbury Road, Strood, was the person Mercer chose to "confide" in and he also stood trial, accused of assisting an offender by disposing of evidence, including her bloodied T-shirt.

Although he was found not guilty by the same jury he had admitted theft and fraud in relation to Mr Tomkins' belongings as well as bank cards and coins stolen from another property around the same time, and was also sentenced to a total of two years and four months' imprisonment.

Ronnie Tudor

​An ammonia attack by a teenager left a publican temporarily blind and another man with chemical burns to his mouth.

Ronnie Tudor squirted the highly alkaline liquid at his three victims, including a woman, shortly after two of his female friends had been told to leave the Northern Belle in Margate.

The 19-year-old had initially thrown a brick at the bar manager, Jonathon Turner, while he was smoking a cigarette outside but when two of the publican's friends - a husband and wife KentOnline is not naming at their request- intervened to help him, all three came under attack from the teen.

The ammonia, later found to have a 12.2pH level, was inside a squeezy bottle that Tudor had for protection, Canterbury Crown Court was told, however, the judge at his sentencing hearing said ​carrying such a weapon was as dangerous as ​having a knife, and could have had "catastrophic" consequences.

The attack happened at about 1am on November 9 last year, prosecutor Alexa Le Moine told the court after Tudor had been drinking in the pub in Mansion Street when two women part of his group were suspected of taking drugs in the toilet.

Tudor had a bottle in his hand which he squirted a liquid from and it hit one man in the eye, and one in the mouth and went on the woman's clothing. Both men needed hospital treatment for their injuries which included chemical burns to the mouth and cheek and a large eye ulcer.

Tudor, of St Luke's Avenue, Ramsgate, was sentenced for two counts of causing GBH with intent, one of administering a noxious substance and one of having a corrosive substance in a public place, after pleading guilty to the charges.

Locking Tudor up for six years, Judge Sarah Counsell told him the injuries he had inflicted were serious, but "could have been far worse" had it not been for the swift actions of others at the scene and the emergency services and he was told he will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence, less time spent on remand, before he can be released.

Clayton Lorton

A drug driver sped past a lorry so fast that it "rocked from side to side" just seconds before ploughing into a former university lecturer, causing him life-changing injuries.

Clayton Lorton was at the wheel of an Audi Q7 when he undertook the HGV, cut back in front and then pulled out onto the Sevenscore roundabout near Ramsgate without stopping to give way.

His highly dangerous manoeuvre resulted in him ploughing with significant force into the passenger side of a Renault van ​already on the roundabout and being driven by Robert Croudace and Canterbury Crown Court heard Mr Croudace's vehicle careered through a chevron road sign and became airborne before landing in the opposite direction while the Audi smashed into a lamppost.

The victim's condition in the immediate aftermath was so serious that he experienced a seizure and began vomiting as he sat slumped over the wheel, resulting in a paramedic having to climb through a window as the doors would not open to ensure he did not choke and spent 18 days in hospital and almost three years later has "significant" ongoing impairments.

Lorton was said by police at the scene to smell heavily of drink, with glazed eyes and slurred speech and he was also unsteady on his feet, and although he was arrested on suspicion of drink-drinking and gave a positive ​test for drugs, no breath kit was available to test for alcohol and it was only once at the hospital - and after what was described as "exhaustive and deliberate delay tactics" - that he agreed to give a blood sample for ​analysis.

This showed that he was twice the legal driving limit for the breakdown product of cocaine and that there was a second chemical by-product indicating "combined" use of the class A drug and alcohol and it was noted by police that while at the hospital he commented he had "f***ed it".

But at the 29-year-old's sentencing hearing for causing serious injury by dangerous driving, no evidence of any alcohol reading was provided and furthermore, it was revealed by Judge Simon Taylor KC that the CPS had decided not to prosecute him for offences of drink-driving, drug-driving or failing to provide a specimen.

It was for that reason, the court heard, that the soon-to-be dad-of-three could only be punished for his dangerous driving and its consequences, and Lorton, of Fort Crescent, Margate, initially denied the offence but later pleaded guilty and was jailed for two years and two months and given a 37-month driving ban.

Paul Redford

A paedophile who downloaded more than 2,000 indecent images of children and shared them with others was jailed.

Police stormed the home of twisted Paul Redford, from Ramsgate, after they received information that child sex abuse images were being accessed from an address in Melbourne Avenue.

The 64-year-old admitted he was responsible when officers told him why they were there on March 1 last year, but after his phone was downloaded, officers uncovered 730 category A images and videos – the most extreme content.

Officers also discovered more than 640 category B and almost 950 category C and in a further disturbing find, they also found he had distributed 40 images and videos through a social media app.

Redford was later charged with making and distributing indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography and prohibited items.

He pleaded guilty to the offences at Canterbury Crown Court and was jailed for two years and four months and was also handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and is subject to strict sex offender notification requirements for 10 years.

Investigating officer DC Annalisa Bevans said: “The children depicted in indecent images are real children and the crimes committed against them are extremely serious.

“Redford admitted he was looking at the images for a sexual purpose and he was complicit in the abuse.”

Dusan Petr

A dad-of-two who caused more than £2,000 of damage at a launderette when he smashed up washing machines and stole the coin boxes from inside was locked up.

Dusan Petr used a pair of pliers to force open the lids of the appliances and made off with £200 from the Lantern Launderette in Folkestone’s Old High Street.

The 21-year-old of Oswald Road, Dover, was charged with theft and criminal damage and originally denied the offences, but when he appeared at Margate Magistrates’ Court via video link from prison earlier this month, he changed his plea to guilty for both crimes.

The court heard Petr had entered the launderette, which was unstaffed, on March 13 last year and used pliers to lift the lids on the washing machines and then he kicked inside the machine to release the money boxes, damaging the insides and the lids which locked into place and put the money boxes into a black bag and left.

The following day, the owner discovered the theft and damage - which cost £2,155.08 to repair - and the court heard Petr had previous convictions for burglary, fraud and theft and was currently serving 38 weeks' custody.

Magistrates told Petr they felt they had no alternative but to jail him because of the stress and impact the offences had had on the launderette owner and that there had been some planning involved in his crimes.

He was jailed for 60 days for the criminal damage and 30 days for the theft but was told those sentences would run concurrently with the sentence he was currently serving.

They also ordered him to pay £2,155.08 compensation for the damage he caused and £200 to cover the amount he stole, as well as £500 to the owner for his loss of earnings.

Benjamin Newton-Alfred

The moment a prolific drug dealer frantically tried to flush cocaine down a toilet to avoid being arrested was caught on camera.

Benjamin Newton-Alfred ran away after seeing police officers in Ordnance Street, Chatham, on December 12, who suspected he was selling in the area.

He was chased to an address in Fort Pitt Street where he ran straight into the bathroom and when constables entered the building, they could hear frantic flushing of the toilet so they gained access to the room where they then arrested the 37-year-old.

In bodyworn footage, Newton-Alfred is seen sitting on the floor leaning against the bath while officers searched his pockets where they found multiple bags of cocaine, around £5,000 in cash, a knife and a mobile phone.

When he was interviewed, he denied dealing drugs and said the money seized by the police was from his social security benefits.

Newton-Alfred, of Curtismill Way, Orpington, was later charged with possessing a class A drug with intent to supply, possessing criminal property and possessing a knife in a public place and pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court where he was jailed for five years and six months.

Investigating officer, PC Stanley McQueen, said: “This man is a prolific drug dealer and our local officers immediately spotted him when he sought to conduct his criminal activity in Chatham.

“He ran from our patrols and thought flushing cocaine down the toilet would prevent his arrest, but investigators recovered sufficient evidence to ensure he was brought to justice.”

David Fisher

A drug addict desperate to change his life for the better walked into a police station carrying 48 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin so he would be sent back to prison.

David Fisher handed over the class A drugs in a bid to trigger his recall to jail because he felt he was not receiving the support he needed from the Probation Service.

The 46-year-old, who has an art diploma, had not long been a free man having been released part-way through a four-and-a-half-year sentence for drug dealing in 2022 and as he was out on licence, with strict conditions not to re-offend, his drastic actions had the desired effect and he was recalled to prison to see out the remainder of his sentence behind bars.

Folkestone magistrates were told Fisher was arrested after walking into the town’s police station in November last year and handing over 17 wraps of crack cocaine and 31 wraps of heroin to staff at the front counter.

Prosecutor Neil Sweeney told the court: “He’s now been recalled and will be in custody until November 2026, so he got his wish.”

Debbie Pizzey, defending, said it was an unusual case and that Fisher had tried to change his life around after he was released from prison but didn’t feel he was quite getting the support he wanted from probation and that there was too much pressure on the outside.

Fisher, who also has a previous conviction for slashing a security guard with a knife at a Folkestone supermarket, appeared in court via videolink on March 21 and admitted two counts of possessing class A drugs.

Magistrates jailed Fisher for 120 days for each offence, to run at the same time as the sentence he is currently serving, meaning his stay in prison will not be extended beyond November this year.