THE courts in Essex have been busy this month as judges continue to rattle through an extensive backlog of criminal cases.
Among those handed hefty prison sentences in June include a man who sexually abused three children when he worked at a shop in Layer de la Haye.
And a brutal thug who drove his car at two people and assaulted another was also locked up.
Here’s a round-up of some of the high profile cases which have resulted in lengthy spells of imprisonment this month.
25 years for murder - Rakar Rahimi
A murderer has been jailed for 25 years for the “brutal” killing of his flatmate in Colchester.
Rakar Rahimi stabbed best friend Bako Azad Sheikha, 22, through the heart before running him over in Distillery Lane in the early hours of September 12 last year.
Rahimi, 23, was later arrested by the police in Dover, Kent, as he tried to flee the country hours after killing Bako.
He denied murder but was convicted by a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court after a ten day trial and sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison.
Read the full story here.
Ten years for burglary and knife assault - Hinzague Hanson
A ruthless thug has been jailed for ten years after subjecting children to a "terrifying" aggravated burglary in Basildon.
Hinzague Hanson, 23, of Gravesend, Kent, was one of a group of men who forced their way into a home.
A women and her children were inside at the time of the raid in July 2021.
Hanson was also convicted of stabbing a man in a steet fight in Kent.
Read the full story here.
14 years for child sexual offences - Christopher White
A former shopworker wept in the dock as three women he sexually abused as children bravely confronted him in court.
Christopher White would give cigarettes, alcohol and confectionery to two children in return for sex acts performed on him on the shop floor of Layer Village Store in Layer de la Haye.
The 37-year-old, of Mill Lane, Birch, also raped another child when he invited her over to a property he was housesitting.
The offences took place between 2007 and 2009, when White was aged in his early twenties.
He was confronted by his victims in court before being sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Read the full story here.
18 years for brutal attacks - Sterling Rose
A manhas been jailed for 18 years after deliberately driving at two men and assaulting another during two "violent" Colchester incidents.
Sterling Rose, a 32-year-old of St Peter’s Street, in Colchester, was involved in an altercation with two other men outside a shop in Ipswich Road, on August 24, 2020.
During that incident, Rose and the two men were involved in a violent incident. The two men then left the area on bikes.
In an act of revenge, Rose then got into his car and deliberately drove at both men.
He mounted the kerb and deliberately drove into one of the men, knocking him off his bike, before swerving back on to the road, re-mounting the kerb again driving into the second man causing multiple serious injuries including a fractured spine and serious head injury.
Read the full story here.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here