Basildon Crown Court Sentencing Results

Kurtis Walters drove at 110mph on a 50mph dual carriageway on Royal Artillery Way in Southend in April 2024 before crashing into three council workers on ride-on lawnmowers travelling in convoy. Two workers were left seriously and permanently injured. A forensic examination of his phone recovered a video showing his Audi A3 speedometer reaching 110mph moments before impact. He claimed he had been driving at around 70mph and locked the brakes up when he saw the mowers.

Hollie Dance and her son Thomas Summers chased a chef for 13 miles from Westcliff-on-Sea to Basildon, Essex, on 10 October 2022, after Dance's daughter falsely accused him of attacking her with a bottle. Dance tailed the victim in her BMW along the A127 while Summers followed in a rented Toyota. The victim made an increasingly frantic call to the police as he fled. Summers then rammed the victim's car, sending it into a bush. The victim suffered fractures to his shoulder and foot. The attack occurred weeks after Dance buried her son Archie Battersbee, whose life support had been switched off following a prank.

Thomas Summers, along with his mother Hollie Dance, chased a chef for 13 miles from Westcliff-on-Sea to Basildon, Essex, on 10 October 2022. The victim was rammed off the road and into a bush by Summers driving a rented Toyota, causing fractures to his shoulder and foot. The attack was motivated by revenge after Summers' sister falsely accused the victim of a bottle attack. The incident occurred weeks after the family buried Archie Battersbee, whose life support was withdrawn.

Marcel Romanowski, 28, from Banbury in Oxfordshire, groomed a child online via WhatsApp after being told her age. He sent indecent images of himself, arranged to meet her at a hotel in Southend in February 2025 for sexual activity. The victim alerted hotel staff who protected her; he was arrested the next day. He was convicted of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, sexual communication with a child and meeting a child following grooming.

Christopher Bates and Salujkit Rudchat ran an illegal money lending business from their home between May 2019 and August 2022, targeting vulnerable Thai nationals. They lent £119,200 at interest rates up to 120% per annum. Rudchat sourced borrowers through her contacts in the Thai community and was the main contact, while applying pressure including threats of legal action, arrest, bankruptcy, visa issues, family shaming, and workplace visits to enforce repayments, causing severe distress to borrowers.

Christopher Bates and Salujkit Rudchat ran an illegal money lending business from their home between May 2019 and August 2022, targeting vulnerable Thai nationals. They lent £119,200 at interest rates up to 120% per annum. Bates provided the money and drew up loan agreements. They used intimidation including threats of legal action, arrest, bankruptcy, visa issues, family shaming, and workplace visits to enforce repayments, causing severe distress to borrowers.

Lily Yirenkyi was employed as a temporary environmental health officer by a local authority in 2020. She fraudulently claimed to have carried out 13 food hygiene inspections at food businesses, issuing fake inspection reports and awarding ratings despite no inspections taking place. The submitted documents contained forged signatures, and she used another local authority's headed paper to fake a reference when applying for the position. Concerns were raised within weeks of her appointment, and she was referred to the council's counter fraud team. Her employment ended after an interview under caution. Court proceedings were delayed after she failed to attend a plea hearing in 2020 and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Sam Tolley, 27, of High Road, Orsett, assisted Sonny Carter by helping him lay low at an address in Lincolnshire after the shooting on July 26, 2026. Tolley was arrested alongside Carter on July 28, 2026, by armed police.

Nelson Lee, 24, of Feryby Road, Grays, encouraged his brother Sonny Carter to attack the victim over a dispute likely linked to the theft of a moped. He sent messages to Carter, including one stating 'He’s gonna be getting done for good' and another referencing carrying out an assault, advising to delete messages. The caravan rented by Lee was searched, finding drugs and cash. Lee was arrested on August 11, 2026.

Sonny Carter, 22, used a double-barrelled shotgun to shoot at a person in a caravan site in Chadfields on July 26, 2026, possibly over the theft of a moped. He fired both rounds directly at a Volkswagen Golf during a confrontation with a moped rider, collected the spent shells, and fled on the moped. The incident was reported around 12pm, with witnesses seeing the events. Carter fled to Lincolnshire with help from an associate and was arrested on July 28, 2026.

Leo Gravely, 20, of St Michael's Road in Canvey Island, used Snapchat account 'alfie_bach' to contact two teenage girls in 2022 when he was 18, making sexually violent threats to obtain explicit imagery. Actions continued for months, reported to police, phone seized with indecent imagery.

In the early 1970s, while living on Canvey Island in Essex, Anthony Singleton abused a girl aged around 10 by making her touch his penis when she was 10 or 11, and kissing her on the mouth when she was 12 and 14. The victim reported the abuse to police in 2017, but the case was delayed for eight years due to Singleton's false claims of dementia. He was examined by psychiatrists in spring 2024 and autumn 2025, who found he was malingering. On the day of trial, he admitted lesser charges via plea bargain, sparing the victim from testifying. The abuse caused the victim lifelong panic attacks, suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety, and difficulties in relationships.

Sean Woodham, 35, of Tudor Road in Westcliff, harassed his ex-partner by calling her 337 times and sending numerous text messages between July 8 and July 23, shortly after his release from prison. This followed a 2024 restraining order that prohibited direct contact with her, stemming from prior harassment. He breached the order multiple times by June 2025, leading to his sentencing for stalking and harassment, amid his involvement in drug-dealing to fund his habits.

Michael Hyde, a 53-year-old from Grays in Essex, was involved in an international online paedophile ring where users shared indecent images and videos of children and discussed tactics to groom and prey on vulnerable child victims. He acted as a top moderator, vetting other users and helping to hide their activities from law enforcement. Hyde breached his existing Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was arrested at his home in May 2024, where small amounts of cannabis and cocaine were also found.

Michael Burke led police on a high-speed chase along the A13, driving at speeds exceeding 100 mph, including on the wrong side of the road. The incident occurred on January 14, 2025, and involved undertaking vehicles, moving between lanes, and attempting to evade police. He abandoned his car and hid in a roadside swamp but was apprehended by Essex Police Dog Kaiser. The car had been linked to a series of incidents in the Thurrock district, and Burke was disqualified from driving at the time.

Jay Hexter was investigated by Essex Police since October 2020 for allegations of sexual assault involving two young girls. One victim confided in a friend, leading to the report. He was arrested and interviewed, initially answering no comment, but was later convicted of three counts of sexual assault of a child, three counts of sexual activity with a child, assault of a child under 13 by penetration, and causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

David Crookes, a 67-year-old from Link Road in Canvey, committed a series of child sex offences, which were described as wicked, vile, and disgusting. He repeatedly failed to appear in court, including for plea hearings and an initial sentencing in May, leading to his arrest and remand. He was finally sentenced after being produced from prison.

Theresa Higginson took part in a Just Stop Oil protest on November 9, 2022, climbing gantries on the M25, resulting in widespread traffic disruption, delays for many people, and an accident near one gantry, with no further incidents occurring.

Daniel Johnson, 25, of Perth and Kinross in Scotland, participated as a willing volunteer in a Just Stop Oil protest on November 9, 2022, where activists climbed gantries on the M25, causing widespread traffic disruption and media interest. The actions led to hours of delay for many people and an accident near one gantry.

George Simonson participated in a Just Stop Oil protest on November 9, 2022, by climbing gantries on the M25, which led to hours of traffic delays, an accident near one gantry, and fortunate avoidance of more incidents. The protest aimed to create mass disruption for media attention to demand stopping oil use.

Callum Vere, 23, of Newton Road, Basildon, possessed 2,156 Category A indecent images of children, including images of children as young as one year old who were wholly incapacitated, along with 2,199 Category B images, 5,190 Category C images, 58 prohibited images of children, and 66 images of bestiality involving dogs. These offences were aggravated by his prior convictions, the vulnerability of the children depicted, and his involvement with others for sharing images. The images were found on undeclared mobile phones while he was under a previous suspended sentence for making and distributing indecent images and sexually abusing his pet dog. The crimes occurred between his previous prosecution in 2022 and early 2024.

David Kidd, formerly of Appleford Court, pleaded guilty in 2023 to two charges of sexually abusing a girl under 13 and three charges of making indecent images of children. The abuse involved a young victim whose parents described it as every parent’s worst nightmare, stating their daughter would never be the same again. Kidd was arrested and sentenced for these offences, which caused significant harm to the victim.

Luke Casson, 35, of Shoeburyness High Street, was on remand for stabbing a former acquaintance in the neck while intoxicated by drink and drugs. On May 17, he punched a female prison duty governor at HMP Chelmsford in the head, causing a laceration requiring 10 stitches, dislodging two teeth, and leaving her permanently scarred. The attack was pre-planned as revenge for her speaking to staff and refusing his request to leave segregation. He was already in segregation for strangling another inmate.

Shannon Weston drove Muhammad Khan and Brandon Lutchmunsing away from Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock, Essex, immediately after the stabbing of the victim on April 28, 2022, and assisted them in evading police between April 28 and May 4, 2022, by providing transport and support.

Isaac Bello was involved in violent disorder on Southend seafront on July 30, where a group assembled in side streets and engaged in a fight with weapons, leaving at least two people with serious injuries. The event was monitored via CCTV, and arrests followed.

Mekai Brown was part of a group involved in violent disorder on Southend seafront on July 30, where individuals brandishing machetes clashed, causing serious injuries to at least two people. The incident involved gathering in side streets and was captured on CCTV, leading to arrests.

Michael King participated in violent disorder on Southend seafront on July 30, where a group of men and boys gathered in side streets before engaging in a fight with weapons, resulting in at least two serious injuries. Police made arrests based on CCTV evidence and further investigations.

Lucas Braga took part in violent disorder on Southend seafront on July 30, involving a group of youths who brandished machetes and fought, resulting in serious injuries to at least two individuals. Police responded quickly and made arrests based on evidence gathered.

Tyler Omo-Irogho was involved in violent disorder on Southend seafront on July 30, where a group of youths, some brandishing machetes, gathered and fought, leaving at least two people with serious injuries requiring hospital treatment. He was arrested along with others after police responded to reports of people with weapons.