A man who killed a coin collector over Beatrix Potter 50ps, a machete-wielding robber and sex pest audience member are among the north Essex criminals brought to justice last month.
We have taken a look back at some of the court cases that have been featured in the paper in the weeks previously.
Other defendants appearing in March included a woman who cultivated cannabis in her home and a man who went on a rampage after being locked out of a bingo hall.
These are 14 criminals who were sentenced by the courts in March:
Name: Michael Galbraith
Age: 32
Court: Chelmsford Crown Court
Crime: Three offences of sexual assault in the autumn of 2017. The court heard he groped a performer on stage during an act at a holiday park in Clacton.
Sentence: 12-month community order with 60 days rehabilitation activity requirement, £1,000 costs and he must sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years
Read more here.
Name: Kylie Rathmell
Age: 29
Court: Chelmsford Crown Court
Crime: The mother cultivated a cannabis farm of more than 70 plants inside her home. Police found two rooms had been converted into cultivation rooms with specialist equipment.
Sentence: Rathmell was jailed for two years for production of drugs and six months for possession of cocaine, both suspended for two years. The sentences will run at the same time. She was also ordered to complete 40 rehabilitation days.
Name: Alan Merry
Age: 33
Court: Chelmsford Crown Court
Crime: Merry harassed an ex-partner, stole her car and burst into a stranger’s home before scaring children and grandparents in a fast-food restaurant in Weeley.
Sentence: Jailed for four years
Name: Donald Sampson
Age: 46
Court: Chelmsford Crown Court
Crime: Balaclava-clad Donald Sampson, 46, walked into a Tesco Express store in Clacton and approached the counter. He demanded cash was handed over while brandishing a machete.
Sampson, of Rosemary Road, Clacton, was later arrested and the weapon, identified as a machete, was discovered in a garden. He admitted charges of robbery and possessing a blade.
Sentence: Jailed for six years
Name: Danny Wrenn
Age: 29
Court: Chelmsford Crown Court
Crime: Stores in Colchester, Clacton and Witham were among Danny Wrenn’s targets during his weeklong spree in March and April last year.
Each time, Wrenn, would enter a store with his face covered and armed with a blade as staff were preparing to close for the night and tell them to get cash. Wrenn has admitted seven robberies, three attempted robberies, seven counts of possession of a knife and possession of cannabis.
Sentence: Jailed for ten years
Name: Jamie Thomson
Age: 28
Court: Colchester Magistrates’ Court
Crime: An intoxicated Jamie Thomson was arrested after smashing the door of Buzz Bingo, in Osborne Street, Colchester, last month. While under arrest at Colchester Police Station he became agitated and spat on an officer before kicking others.
Sentence: He was made subject to an 18 month community order. He must also pay £50 compensation to each police officer as well as Buzz Bingo.
Name: Sheldon McKay
Age: 23
Court: Ipswich Crown Court
Crime: The roofer broke a man’s jaw in two places in an unprovoked attack. Victim Joshua Briggs had to have metal plates installed and faced several operations after being punched by Sheldon McKay in Colchester town centre. And months later, during a chance meeting, McKay threatened to stab Mr Briggs as he believed he was assisting the police with the investigation.
Sentence: McKay was sentenced to 18 months in prison and for threatening revenge he received six months. The sentences will be consecutive. Both were suspended for two years. He must complete 180 hours of unpaid work, 25 rehabilitation days and an anger management programme.
McKay was also banned from Colchester town centre between 8pm and 5am for one year and he must pay compensation of £2,000 to Mr Briggs.
Name: Raymond McSweeney
Age: 80
Court: Colchester Magistrates’ Court
Crime: He denied he had contravened laws at the House in Multiple Occupation he owns and manages in Mile End Road, Colchester. But he was convicted after a trial. The breaches related to fire and electrical safety, and living conditions within the property including a blocked fire escape route, exposed electrical wiring, extensive mould growth in the shared bathroom, general disrepair to the communal areas and unhygienic conditions
Sentence: McSweeney was fined £3,100 ordered to pay £3,998 costs and a victim surcharge of £35.
Name: Ioan Sabou
Age: 35
Court: Chelmsford Crown Court
Crime: Sabou subjected a woman and her friend to a terrifying raid. He was among a gang of four men who entered the Colchester home of a woman in her 30s after arranging to meet her there.
Armed with stun guns and batons, the men searched the address and stole a number of items including a computer tablet, mobile phones, cash and bank cards, before leaving. The stun gun was also used to restrain the victim’s friend.
Sentence: Jailed for 12 years
Name: Danny Bostock
Age: 33
Court: Ipswich Crown Court
Crime: The killer stabbed a beloved collector to death and then tried to blow up his flat in an apparent bid to get hold of his prized coins. Danny Bostock denied he was responsible for brutally attacking Gordon McGhee, 52, in the bedroom of his flat in Forest Road, Colchester, in Augustin an attempt to steal Beatrix Potter 50ps.
Sentence: Life sentence, minimum of 30 years
Name: Jack Bicheno
Age: 24
Court: Colchester Magistrates’ Court
Crime: The student was treble the drink drive limit and crashed his car after boozing – then called his mum to pick him up. Bicheno was planning to drive from Essex University in Wivenhoe back to his home 40 miles away.
But he got just three miles into the trip when he clipped the kerb in Cowdray Avenue, Colchester. A breathalyser test which showed he had 107mcgs of alcohol per 100mls of breath. The limit is 35.
Sentence: He was banned from driving for two years and two months and ordered to do 60 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £170 in court charges
Name: Matthew Edgerton
Age: 25
Court: Ipswich Crown Court
Sentence: Eight month jail term
Name: Daniel Chew
Age: 41
Court: Colchester Magistrates’ Court
Crime: He was jailed after breaching the terms of his suspended sentence order. The suspended sentence was handed out after he repeatedly punched a priest in an unprovoked attack. But he failed to adhere to the conditions.
Sentence: Magistrates decided to activate part of Chew’s suspended sentence and jailed him for ten weeks.
Name: Kevin Wall
Age: 28
Court: Colchester Magistrates’ Court
Crime: The father led police on a high-speed chase through Colchester narrowly avoiding a pedestrian who was crossing the road. After eventually crashing into a metal railing he tried to run and hide in a bush before being located by a police dog.
Sentence: Magistrates banned Wall from driving for five years. He was sentenced to 16 weeks
for driving while disqualified and failing to provide a specimen. The sentences will run at
the same time. Wall will also spend 12 weeks in prison after breaching a suspended sentence which will run consecutively. He is already serving a 876 day jail term at Norwich Prison for a third burglary offence.
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