CRIMINALS jailed in March include a drug runner who stabbed a father-of-two, men who were caught hauling firearms and a thug who fractured a police officers hand in a vicious biting attack.
The list below includes some of the offenders that were put behind bars by judges during March.
The offenders' names and a summary of what led to them appearing in the dock are as follows:
Men caught hauling firearms locked up for total of 12 years
A MAN who was found hauling guns and ammunition in the boot of his car in Colchester was acting as “the armourer” for a criminal group, a court heard.
Jake Mitchell, 27, was seen at a car park in Colchester in October 2019, seemingly waiting for someone’s arrival.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard he was seen to go to the rear of a Mercedes before opening the boot, while co-defendant Billy Parsley, 24, got out of the passenger seat of a BMW.
Judge Timothy Walker said Parsley deposited an item wrapped in yellow plastic into the boot.
“That later turned out to be the sawn-off double barrelled Baretta shotgun, which contained two live cartridges inside the breach,” he said.
“That was covered with a towel by Mr Mitchell, Mr Parsley you got into the front passenger seat and the BMW drove off.”
Mitchell was arrested shortly after this meeting, with a search of the boot revealing a sawn-off rifle found in a plastic bag together with nine rounds of ammunition.
Parsley was arrested the following day.
At Mitchell’s home, in Egret Crescent, Colchester, a 4mm revolver was found under his bed.
In total, 92 cartridges were found which could be fired from the revolver.
The prosecution said Mitchell had acted as “the armourer” for a criminal group, an allegation which was disputed by Mitchell’s barrister, who pointed out he faced no charges which would support this claim.
On the guns, Judge Walker said: “You must have intended they be used for a criminal purpose or at least have been reckless as to whether they would be so used.”
Mitchell, admitted three counts of a possessing a firearm, while Parsley, of no fixed address, admitted transferring a firearm.
Mitchell was sentenced to seven years and three months imprisonment, while Parsley received a prison term of five years and three months.
Drug runner sentenced to life imprisonment after stabbing father-of-two
A DRUG runner who hoped to make a £1,000 per week career out of street dealing has been locked up for a minimum of 20 years after stabbing a man to death in a dispute over drugs.
Murdoch Brown, 31, was stabbed several times in the leg in Buffett Way, Greenstead, Colchester, in May 2019.
During a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, it was the prosecution case that Reece McHutcherson, 20, was ordered to stab Murdoch’s brother Robert over an unpaid drug debt.
McHutcherson had tried to argue he acted in self-defence when the two brothers pulled knives on him and tried to rob him.
But in sentencing him, Judge Lynch said McHutcherson had arrived in Buffett Way armed with a knife.
In respect of his drug dealing, Tracy Ayling, prosecuting, said: “We submit he is not a vulnerable person coerced or pressurised into what he did, and given his evidence in this trial it was a lifestyle and career choice.
“He gave evidence about how much money he could earn, and we submit he was trusted to travel with both Williams and Dice to learn the ropes of a new job.
“He told you in evidence it was a very busy night and his view was that he could make about a £1,000 a week.”
Judge Lynch said the background of the murder was rooted in “the misery of the drugs world”.
She said: “Knives are carried, and in my view in this case a knife was carried, to facilitate the continual criminal activity of drug supply.”
Sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, McHutcherson, of Pillow Way, Buckingham, will serve a minimum term of 20 years before he can be considered for parole, while a three-year concurrent prison sentence was passed in respect of a single charge of being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug.
Thug fractured police officer's hand after vicious bite attack
A MAN who was subdued with tear gas after sinking his teeth into the hand of a police officer has been jailed for more than two years.
The officer required surgery after Alfie Butler, 27, launched a “violent and sustained” attack on two police officers in Feering last year.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard police were called after Butler had arrived at a family member’s home, where he began charging the front door.
Richard Potts, prosecuting, said: “He was shouting out to two young children to open the door, shouting that he was their real father.”
Body-worn cameras recorded Butler attacking the two officers.
He left one with a “nasty injury” to his right hand after biting him for more than a minute, a wound which required surgical treatment.
Butler committed the offence while subject to a suspended sentence order.
He also appeared at court to be sentenced for a sexual assault on a prison officer in 2018.
Butler, of St Peter’s Street, Colchester, admitted causing grievous bodily harm, assault on an emergency worker and sexual assault.
Philip Misner, mitigating, said Butler suffered with mental health issues and a drinking problem, and had committed the sexual assault while off his medication.
Mr Misner said the background to the attack on the police officers was “bizarre and erratic behaviour”.
He said: “There was talk of squirrels and the like, he was punching the front door, insisting he was the child’s father, plainly his behaviour could only be described as bizarre.”
Butler was sentenced to a total of two and a half years imprisonment.
Recorder William Clegg QC said: “Police officers and other emergency workers are entitled to the protection of the courts when they go about their business trying to protect the public.”
Sex offender used false name to contact underage girls and send sexualised messages
A SEX offender who used a false name to contact underage girls and send them sexually-charged messages left one teenager feeling “disgusted and used”.
Joe McCallum, 32, contacted six teenage girls in the Colchester and Maldon areas, using aliases to avoid detection.
Police became aware of his activity after a vulnerable teenage girl went missing in March last year.
She was later found, but it became apparent she had got into a vehicle with McCallum, who had given her money and offered to buy her a coat.
McCallum, who in 2014 was convicted of making indecent images of children and causing a child to engage in sexual activity, was stopped by officers and his phone was checked.
In breach of a sexual harm prevention order, he was found to have downloaded and used the social media app Snapchat before deleting it.
He had also been using the dating app Tinder without permission and had failed to register a mobile phone with the police.
When further investigation of his phone was carried out, police found he had sent inappropriate messages to five other children.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard he used false names on each occasion to avoid detection.
He invited one young girl to a party and told her “she best be worth the cab money”.
To another girl, he sent requests for naked photographs and even offered to pay for the pictures.
The court heard one girl felt “disgusted and used”, while another feared McCallum may approach her if he knew what she looked like.
Judge Walker deemed McCallum to be a dangerous offender.
Of one victim, he said: “Her mother understandably was frightened as a result of your communications.
“This was an intrusion into a young girl’s personal life.”
McCallum, of HM Prison Chelmsford, previously of Destination Drive, Colchester, admitted six breaches of a sexual harm prevention order, four counts of failing to comply with notification requirements and three counts of sexual communication with a child.
He was sentenced to five years imprisonment and will remain on the sex offender’s register for life.
Young victim praised after speaking up over rape
A YOUNG woman who spoke up about being raped has been praised for her bravery, as her vile attacker was locked up.
Daniel Stott, 27, assaulted the teenager in the Boxted Avenue area of Clacton, in November 2019.
Essex Police officers arrested Stott the next day before charging him.
Stott of Coke Street, Harwich, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court where he admitted two counts of rape - and a further count of sexual assault by penetration.
He also admitted one count of possession of cannabis.
He was jailed for five years in total and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Det Con Reuben Brame, who carried out the investigation, said: “These were horrendous offences and have had a lasting impact on the young woman he attacked.
“I am pleased Stott has pleaded guilty to save her the further trauma of having to give evidence in court.
“She has shown great bravery in coming forward and speaking about what happened on that terrible day.
“Stott has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and once he serves his prison sentence he will be regularly monitored.”
Mr Brame has also promised victims of all forms of sexual assault the force will do all it can to bring attackers to justice.
“I would urge anyone who is a victim of sexual offences to please not be afraid of coming forward and reporting it,” he added.
“We will investigate and work to bring offenders to justice, and we work closely with other organisations to ensure you have the support you need.”
Dealer jailed after running a drugs line in Clacton
A DRUG dealer ran a drugs line while still on licence for previous drugs convictions.
Liam Hughes ran the Aron drugs line in Clacton and was caught with crack cocaine and heroin worth more than £13,000.
Operation Raptor North, one of Essex Police’s specialist teams who identify and dismantle drugs gangs, began investigating the line in October last year.
They subsequently identified Hughes as running the line.
He was arrested on January 28 when officers from Essex Police and the Metropolitan Police’s Op Orochi team carried out a warrant at his home in St Mark’s Rise, in Dalston, east London.
Officers seized heroin and crack cocaine worth an estimated street value of £13,060 following the raid.
Hughes, 31, admitted two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs when he appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court.
He was jailed the same day for seven and a half years. The drugs and mobile phones police seized will now be destroyed.
Following the conviction, Det Sgt Tom Coppin warned potential drug dealers they will be caught and be brought to face justice.
He said: “The court heard Hughes played a leading role in selling drugs and had done so while on licence.
“He clearly knew the risks of getting involved in drug dealing, but paid no heed and is now serving a significant amount of time in prison.
“There are many reasons why and how people get involved in this kind of lifestyle, but the risks remain the same, whatever your circumstances.
“You are never far from being arrested and prosecuted, which will impact your freedom and plans for the future.”
Det Sgt Coppin has now urged gang members and drug users to leave behind their lives of criminal activity and seek help.
Crook part of gang which raided family home in burglary
A CROOK stormed into a family home in a violent burglary which saw a father sprayed with bleach - before raiding other homes the next day.
Jac Jones was one of a gang which raided a family home in Southend in the early hours of the morning on September 18, 2019.
The house was home to a couple and their two children and the father was woken and went to investigate.
When he realised what was happening, the father tried to run back upstairs to his children, but the gang forced him to the floor and he was sprayed in the face with bleach.
Later in the day on September 18, Jones, now 18, was spotted in Benfleet, acting as a scout or lookout before people broke into a home.
Items worth £2,000 were stolen, including a games console, laptop and jewellery.
Jones’ gang then raided a third property in Basildon on September 26 by breaking the glass on a door and stealing about £3,000 worth of items.
Jones, of Kingwell Avenue, Clacton, was arrested in Clacton in January 2020.
At his sentencing at Basildon Crown Court, Richard Scott, prosecuting, said: “His arrest came about as a consequence of being arrested for drug matters.
“Officers were on duty in Clacton. He saw the officers, turned around and walked the other way and they became suspicious. He made off but was detained. He was searched and had 52 wraps of crack cocaine on him.”
Mr Scott said after his arrest and release on bail, he committed further drug crimes in February in association with a drugs line, known as Ice, and was arrested on February 22 where he had 248 wraps, worth about £2,800.
Jones admitted aggravated burglary, two burglaries and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
He was jailed for five years and six months.
Drug dealer raped woman at knifepoint
A DRUG dealer who raped a woman at knifepoint and left her thinking she would be killed has been jailed for at least 15 years.
Steven Anderson, 34, broke the woman’s jaw and raped her at knifepoint twice in the terrifying ordeal.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard how he had enticed her to a world of Class A drugs, giving her crack cocaine to exploit her.
When travelling he would leave his drugs with the victim.
The court heard Anderson, from Jaywick, would accuse her of taking his drugs so that she would be indebted to him.
He returned from London on December 13, 2019, and accused her of taking drugs and money, following which he threw a perfume bottle at a television, causing it to break.
He also held a meat clever to her throat and damaged a staircase with it before he locked her inside a house for a day.
On January 2, 2020, he again accused her of taking his drugs and hit her in the head with a wooden meat tenderiser.
She later tried to escape but was dragged back to the house by her hair and assaulted, suffering a broken jaw, before twice being raped at knifepoint. She escaped to her mother’s home the following day and the police were called.
Anderson was arrested in Homerton three weeks later.
Jamie Sawyer, prosecuting, said there had been a “campaign of violence” against the victim.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said: “I honestly believed I would be killed. I still suffer from continual flashbacks of fighting for my life.
“He abused me in the worst way possible. The scars I have will never leave me.”
Emma Akuwudike, mitigating, pleaded for a degree of mercy on behalf of Anderson, who had previously been convicted 16 times for 29 offences.
“He does express some remorse,” she said.
“He seems to acknowledge he has to change and can’t continue with these chaotic and violent offences and wishes to turn his life around.”
Anderson, who had been found guilty of seven charges following a trial in December, was jailed for 15 years when he appeared at court yesterday.
He was jailed for 15 years for rape, four years for causing GBH with intent, four years for making threats to kill, four years for false imprisonment, five months for assault by beating, and three months for criminal damage – to serve concurrently – and to serve a further six years on licence.
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