Jailed

Members of an organised crime gang who burgled stables acrossthe county have been jailed.

Frank Matthews, Jimmy Price and Lewis Collins were arrested after they conspired to steal horse equipment valued at around £100,000 at up to eight separate properties between 3rd May and 17th May 2020.

An injured man who repeatedly spat at ambulance staff who were trying to help him has been jailed for six months.

William Gregory, 36, had been drinking alcohol when he was found collapsed on a grass verge next to a row of houses in Newbridge Avenue, Sittingbourne, on Monday 5th September. He also appeared to have removed a plaster cast from his foot.

Members of the public were concerned for his welfare and dialled 999, resulting in Kent Police officers and South East Coast Ambulance Service clinicians attending the scene.

A robber who stole cash at a Sittingbourne store was foiled by the victim as he tried to flee the scene.

On Monday 23rd May Christopher Bygrave and Jimmy Brazil went to a shop in Milton Regis. The latter entered the premises where he saw a woman waiting to deposit a quantity of cash.

He left the building and spoke to Bygrave who went in and stood next to the woman at the counter. His presence made her nervous and, as she tried to phone her husband who was waiting outside, Bygrave snatched the money from her hand and ran towards the exit.

A man who repeatedly stamped on his former partner’s head during a violent assault near Rochester has been jailed.

Aaron Boon also pulled a clump of hair from his victim, during a sustained ordeal which was witnessed by two young children.

A brutal, pre-planned and unprovoked assault which saw a teenage girl stabbed 60 times in Sittingbourne has led to a judge imposing a discretionary life sentence on a teenage boy.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, assaulted the victim in July 2021 and left her with numerous life-threatening injuries. 

Following an investigation by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, he admitted attempted murder and was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court earlier today (Friday 4th March).

A speeding motorist, who was using his mobile phone minutes before he caused the death of another driver, has been jailed.

Loui Curtis caused the fatal collision on the Londonbound carriageway of the M2, close to the junction 5 exit, on Monday 3rd August 2020.

The 27-year-old of Hawbeck Road, Gillingham, was driving his black BMW 320D when it collided with the rear of a blue Toyota Yaris at 12.50am. The victim, a 34-year-old man from Rochester, died at the scene.

An escaped prisoner, who led officers on a police pursuit near Sittingbourne, has been jailed.

William Adams was handed a two-year and four-month prison sentence after admitting dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.

He was additionally charged with being unlawfully at large after he absconded from a prison in Sussex on 14 July 2021. He was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday 27 January 2022.

Two burglars have been sentenced at court after they stole vehicles parked outside owners’ homes in Swale and Medway.

Between Saturday 26th June and Sunday 11th July, Jim Smith (left photo) and Benjamin Lee targeted high value cars by stealing the ignition keys, having gained access to the victims' addresses.

On the 26th June, the pair stole an Audi A4 parked on a driveway in Coombe Drive, Sittingbourne. They replaced the number plates with a set stolen from a similar vehicle and then drove to Iwade where they attempted to commit another burglary.

A drunk van driver, who ploughed into a car and killed a schoolgirl in Bobbing, has been jailed for seven years.

Benjamin Henley was more than two and a half times over the drink drive limit when he collided with a black Audi which had broken down on a slip road on the A249 on Wednesday 24th October 2018.

Henley, 45, of Illustrious Close, Chatham, failed to spot the Audi before he collided with it at around 11.50pm.

Georgia Mann, who was 15 and from Sittingbourne, was taken to a London hospital where she died on the morning of Friday 26 October.

A cleaner who stole around £50,000 from a customer has been jailed.

Jennifer Richards stole the money from an elderly man whom she cleaned for between October 2017 and February 2018.

The 50-year-old was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court yesterday (Monday 13th September) to two years and three months in jail after being found guilty of one count of fraud by false representation and one count of theft, following a trial.