This month's round-up of cases before the crown courts in north Essex includes a talented footballer jailed for slashing a man across the face with a machete and a careless driver who killed a popular musician by ploughing his car through a pub's smoking area.
Here are the faces and stories of the criminals locked up in June:
Daniel Halfacre
A DRUG runner who flogged heroin and crack cocaine to fund his habit and clear a debt to his dealers was rumbled after he sold drugs to an undercover police officer.
Daniel Halfacre, 36, was arrested after he was repeatedly identified as a Class A drug dealer across a three-day period in September 2019.
Ipswich Crown Court heard he was introduced to an undercover officer, known as ‘Baz’, in a churchyard in Clacton.
After selling him three wraps of heroin for £20, Halfacre and the officer exchanged telephone numbers.
The officer contacted him the next day, arranging the purchase of one wrap of cocaine.
Halfacre, of Jackson Road, Clacton, was later arrested after a patrolling officer spotted him acting suspiciously.
After a negative search for drugs, a clear plastic bag was found nearby on the ground containing 20 wraps.
The wraps were analysed and were found to contain both heroin and cocaine.
Halfacre later admitted two counts of supplying a Class A drug and two counts of possession with intent to supply a Class A drug, on the basis he had acted as a drugs runner under the pressure of others.
Lynne Shirley, mitigating, said Halfacre had already spent the equivalent of seven months behind bars awaiting sentence.
She said he is successfully overcoming his Class A drug addiction while in prison and hopes to rekindle his relationship with his teenage daughter.
She said: “He was addicted to heroin and he sold drugs, of course, to fund his own habit.
“The reason being he had a debt of £500. Those above him, those dealers, sought to enforce that debt and that resulted in him being where he is now.”
The court heard while in Norwich prison, he spent 23 hours a day locked in his cell.
Jailing Halfacre for two years and one month, Judge David Pugh said: “You have five convictions for nine offences, although I note that none are for the supply of drugs.
“I also note you have been addressing your addiction while on remand.”
Darren Collins
A CONVICTED sex offender who repeatedly breached a requirement to tell the police where he lives refused to confirm his name in court as he told a judge of how he had become “fed up”.
Darren Collins, 47, has been required to keep the police informed of his address for 15 years, after he was convicted of sexual offences against a child. As part of the sentence, he was placed on the sex offender’s notification register until further order.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard he had since breached the notification requirements three times.
The latest breach occurred when Collins registered his parents’ home in Harwich as his address.
But on January 14 at about 3am, officers found him sleeping in his car in Harwich.
His parents revealed he had not in fact been living at their address since before Christmas.
The police then tried to contact Collins “without any real success”, before they received a tip-off he had been staying at a Premier Inn.
Officers caught up with him at the hotel in February and discovered on various dates between January and February he had been staying at three hotels in Clacton, Harwich and Colchester.
He admitted two breaches of notification requirements when he appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court.
Appearing in court on Monday, he told Judge David Turner QC: “I’m fed up with it, I just want to move on I just want to find a way to be happy in life.”
The court heard he has been required to notify the police of his address since his 2004 conviction for indecency with a girl aged under 14, offences for which he received a 12-month prison sentence.
Judge Turner said Collins had given “a very clear view of the disgust he feels towards the order”, adding his attitude in court had included choosing not to answer his name when asked by the court clerk.
He added: “I’m afraid these requirements are onerous, they are meant to be.
“They are set down by law, Parliament has decided that people who commit sexual offences require to be monitored and in your case that has now gone on for a considerable period.” He sentenced Collins, of no fixed address, to eight months imprisonment.
Daniel Bannerman
A SERIAL shoplifter banned from every Co-op in Essex terrorised staff and snatched more than £1,000 worth of meat and wine in a single month.
Daniel Bannerman, 29, carried out a 32-day shoplifting campaign in March and April, snatching meat and wine from Co-op branches in Colchester, West Bergholt and Stanway.
Ipswich Crown Court heard he also targeted a Colchester One Stop store.
The value of goods stolen totalled £1,779.
On one occasion, when a member of staff challenged Bannerman, the thief said “Come any closer and I’ll knock you out”.
Bannerman, of no fixed address, admitted 26 counts of theft, one count of attempted theft and one count of using threatening or abusive words.
The statement of a member of Co-op staff was read in court, describing Bannerman as a “prolific” offender who had committed many thefts, causing “huge financial loss”.
The statement revealed Bannerman had been verbally banned from stores, before a formal banning notice was put in place in September last year prohibiting him from entering all stores across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
The member of staff said: “He has committed a countless amount of theft over years, resulting in massive loss due to the items taken and time this has now cost.
“Staff are fearful Daniel may return at any time, causing harassment, alarm and stress to colleagues.”
In mitigation, the court heard Bannerman had been “in the grips” of a Class A drug addiction but had been helped by the 60 days he has already spent in custody.
Recorder Heather Rogers QC was told he had lost his father at a young age and was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.
She gave him an eight month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.
She said rehabilitation programmes were the “best hope”
of breaking Bannerman’s pattern of offending including a drug rehabilitation requirement, a thinking skills programme and 120 hours of unpaid work.
Dylan Awulonu
A TALENTED footballer “ruined his life” by turning to gang culture and slashing a rival across the face with a machete.
Alongside a drug dealer, Dylan Awulonu, 19, travelled to a customer’s home in Colchester to act as protection.
Ipswich Crown Court heard there was “bad blood” between Awulonu and the man the pair were going to meet.
After Awulonu got out of a taxi at the customer’s address, a confrontation followed.
He produced a machete from his trousers, described in court as a “big, vicious weapon”, before slashing his victim across the face.
Judge Emma Peters said: “The force of the blow was such as to fracture one of the bones in his face.”
Following the attack, the victim needed 185 stitches and a metal plate was inserted in his face.
The court heard Awulonu, then aged 18, had only recently moved to Colchester from Dublin, and had no previous convictions.
A talented footballer, he had been selected for a scholarship in America, but instead became immersed in “gang culture and drug culture”.
The court heard he had produced a ‘Drill’ music video, in which he espoused drug culture and knife violence.
Charles Conway, mitigating, said the video was nothing more than “showing off ”.
Awulonu, of Avon Way, Colchester, denied causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a blade, but was convicted following a trial.
The court heard when the victim gave evidence, the lasting effects of the injury were clear.
The attack left a long scar, and he struggles with dribbling due to the nerve damage in his face.
Judge Peters said: “He says even respective employers look at him and think he might be trouble.
“He finds when he goes out he is looked at and people make assumptions because of his scar.”
Judge Peters said Awulonu’s age and lack of previous convictions led her away from imposing an extending sentence.
She said: “This was an impulsive act motivated by bravado to achieve status and reputation.”
She said only a lengthy spell behind bars would do, in order to drive home the importance of tackling the “chaos” of knife crime.
Jailing Awulonu for 12 years, she said: “It is such a waste of good talent. There was so much ahead of you which could have been good.”
Bandile Xozumti
A CARELESS driver who caused the death of a much-loved musician when he ploughed his car through a pub's smoking area was jailed for one year.
Stuart McClung, 36, a popular and talented musician, was killed when a car driven by 41-year-old Bandile Xozumti left the road and smashed through the smoking area of the Spinnaker Pub, in Colchester.
The court heard Xozumti had driven to a party with his wife on the evening of the crash, in November 2019.
In an interview with the probation service following his arrest and charge, he said he had drunk one or two glasses of wine.
A blood sample was taken from him at the hospital five hours after the fatal collision which showed a low blood alcohol concentration.
The court heard Xozumti is a Type 1 diabetic and is dependent on insulin, but there is no evidence to suggest he was suffering from any problems arising from his condition at the time of the crash.
Andrew Jackson, prosecuting at Chelmsford Crown Court, said: “Having left the party in Colchester in the early hours, he drove his wife towards their home.
“She was the front seat passenger, during the journey she was using her phone to find music.
“She was talking to the defendant, but in her witness statement said they were not arguing.
“She said she was not looking at the road ahead so could provide no explanation for what happened.
“The defendant is local to the area and should be familiar with the roads on the route which he took.
“His car was in good mechanical order.”
The court heard at around 12.50am, Xozumti drove onto Hythe Quay.
As he approached the pub, he failed to follow a gradual bend, instead driving onto the opposite side of the road before mounting the pavement.
Crash reconstruction experts determined he was travelling at a speed between 37mph and 43mph, over the 30mph speed limit.
The road and pub were well lit, the conditions were good.
His car ploughed through the outdoor smoking area, where Mr McClung was seated by the wall of the pub.
Also in the smoking area were Mr McClung’s partner Victoria Spall, Ian Winter and Carl Joyner.
All four were struck by the car and Mr McClung was forced through the wall, with the car coming to a halt about two metres from where the barman was standing. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr Jackson said: “He was still seated and collapsed over the car bonnet.”
Miss Spall suffered cuts and abrasions to her limbs and hips, as well as bruises to her ribs.
Mr Winter, a regular at the pub and a darts and pool team player, described the impact of the car as “like a bomb going off”.
He suffered serious injuries, including fractures to his pelvis, left hip, left femur and some spinal bruising.
Seven weeks after the crash, he remained in a wheelchair.
The court heard Mr Joyner, who suffered head injuries, a dislocated right arm and shoulder and nerve damage, had just given his seat up to Mr McClung before the crash.
Miss Spall said: “I’ve lost not only my partner, but also my friend of 18 years – I feel like a huge part of my life is now missing. I’m very lucky to have not been seriously injured, but every day I feel the guilt of being alive when Stu is no longer here and when others were so badly hurt.
“His death has impacted so many people.”
She added: “I can no longer clearly remember what he looks like, as I am haunted by seeing him at the funeral home laying in his coffin.
“But that was my only opportunity to say goodbye.
“It hurts me deeply that I can’t think about him anymore without that image appearing in my head.”
Xozumti, of Waterside Lane, Colchester, admitted a charge of causing death by careless driving.
Steven Levy, mitigating, said his client had been left devastated by the crash and shown remorse throughout the investigation.
Xozumti suggested he may have blacked out before the crash, although no medical evidence supports that assertion.
References from a friend, a colleague and a pastor of the church he attends, described him as a “kind person of high moral calibre”.
Judge Timothy Walker remained constrained by guidelines which dictate sentences in such cases.
He said: “Stuart McClung was plainly a very loved and well-liked person, he was described as having been a fun, loving individual, a joker and the life and soul of the party. He was also plainly a caring man.
“Victoria Spall has lost her partner and friend.
“She described Stuart as someone who is always striving to do good for others.
“His sister describes the news of the loss of her only sibling and her best friend as being the most stressful, emotional and saddest day of her life.”
Jailing Xozumti for one year, Judge Walker said his following of the guidelines should not minimise a “truly dreadful” incident.
Xozumti was banned from driving for two years.
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