Canterbury Crown Court Sentencing Results

Explore 76 verdicts at Canterbury Crown Court (Canterbury, Canterbury). Updated with the latest court outcomes.

Cameron Skilton

Burglary

May 21, 2025

Sentence: 17 years imprisonment

Cameron Skilton was involved in burglaries in the Sandwich area in September and October 2024. A Ford Focus with changed numberplates was used in one offence, and he was tracked down and arrested in Brighton in November 2024.

Pleaded guilty to burglary and other offences, including importation of prohibited weapons in a separate case.

Sources: kentlive.news

Daniel Meehan

Burglary

May 21, 2025

Sentence: 6 years and 6 months imprisonment

Daniel Meehan was involved in two similar break-ins in the Sandwich area in September and October 2024. A Ford Focus was identified as having been used in the first offence, and further enquiries linked him to the crimes.

Jamie Stacey-Evans

Supply of class A drugs

May 20, 2025

Sentence: 15 years imprisonment

Jamie Stacey-Evans, 35, from Coxheath, ran the 'Jay line' network supplying cocaine, MDMA, ecstasy, ketamine, and cannabis since May 2024; videos on seized phones showed a drug lab producing up to 100,000 ecstasy pills; £3,000 cash seized.

Pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply and production of drugs, and possessing criminal property.

Sources: kentlive.news

Gary King

Burglary

May 19, 2025

Sentence: 3 years imprisonment

On March 18, 2025, Gary King attempted to enter vehicles and homes in Canterbury, including trying handles on Beaconsfield Road and entering a property on Shaftesbury Avenue where he stole an Apple Watch after being spotted by a resident. In another incident that night on Beaconsfield Road, he was confronted inside a bedroom but fled empty-handed. He was identified via CCTV, added to the Kent Police most wanted list, and arrested on April 15, 2025, at Holyhead Port while trying to board a ferry to Ireland.

Pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary. Detective Constable Rosalynd Friend commented that King showed no regard for the distress caused to victims and that his case serves as a warning to others.

Sources: kentlive.news

Ozioma Egbujor

Supply of class A drugs

May 7, 2025

Sentence: 5 years and 8 months imprisonment

Ozioma Egbujor was involved in the supply of class A substances in the Medway towns between February and March 2025. Police were alerted to suspicious behaviour on March 3 at an address in Magpie Hall Road, where they found him with 40 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine in his trouser pocket, along with cash and two mobile phones. A further search recovered 100 more wraps concealed on his person.

Maureen Rickards

Murder

April 9, 2025

Sentence: Life imprisonment

Maureen Rickards, 50, from Canterbury, murdered her husband Jeremy Rickards, 65, around June 9, 2024, by stabbing him five times in the chest; hid his body in the garden of their St Martin's Road home, used his bank card, and lied about his death in Saudi Arabia; body found July 11, 2024.

Jahrad Alderton-Ford

Sexual assault

February 7, 2025

Sentence: 7 years imprisonment

Jahrad Alderton-Ford, 43, from Ash near Sandwich, sexually assaulted two girls in 2022, reported to police leading to his immediate arrest and subsequent trial.

Convicted after trial of two counts of sexual assault. Extended licence of 1 year; subject to Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Sources: kentlive.news

Sian Banks

Importing class A drugs

February 3, 2025

Sentence: 5 years imprisonment

Sian Banks, 25, from Liverpool, was involved in smuggling cocaine and ketamine into the UK, with her DNA found on drug packaging. She travelled between Liverpool and Europe to support Burton, smuggled drugs in her luggage through Liverpool John Lennon Airport, and allowed her bank accounts to receive money for his activities. She was linked to the drug importations seized on July 3, 2022.

Pleaded guilty to importing class A drugs and money laundering. She assisted her partner in drug smuggling, including handling drug packaging and providing forged Covid-19 passes to facilitate travel.

Sources: liverpoolecho.co.uk

Jack Cracknell

Causing death by dangerous driving

January 31, 2025

Sentence: 6 years imprisonment

Jack Cracknell, 22, from Faversham, drove at 117mph in a 40mph zone on New Dover Road, Canterbury, on December 3, 2022, losing control of his Ford Fiesta, crashing into a roundabout and pub, killing passenger Lucy Billingham, 18, and injuring another.

Admitted charges of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Sources: kentlive.news

Jason Tse

Conspiracy to supply cocaine

January 30, 2025

Sentence: 3 years and 10 months imprisonment

Jason Tse, 41, from Westgate, involved in a cocaine network based in Thanet, contributing to the group's supply operations.

John Horn

Conspiracy to supply cocaine

January 30, 2025

Sentence: 6 years and 6 months imprisonment

John Horn, 38, from Ramsgate, led an organised crime group supplying class A drugs in Thanet, enlisting Oliver Eyles for distribution to street dealers.

Joseph Shuttleworth

Conspiracy to supply cocaine

January 30, 2025

Sentence: 2 years and 4 months imprisonment

Joseph Shuttleworth, 35, from Ramsgate, was part of an organised crime group supplying cocaine in Thanet, dismantled by Kent Police.

Oliver Eyles

Conspiracy to supply cocaine

January 30, 2025

Sentence: 5 years and 6 months imprisonment

Oliver Eyles, 36, from Ramsgate, managed the daily running of a cocaine supply network in Thanet, including onward distribution to street dealers.

Robert Onicala

Manslaughter

January 17, 2025

Sentence: 4 years in a young offender institution

Robert Onicala punched Ion Niculae following a trivial disagreement over music at a party to celebrate Easter on May 5, 2024, at a farm off Nickle Lane, Chartham. Niculae, 51, was knocked unconscious and later pronounced deceased despite paramedics' efforts. Witnesses described an argument during a barbecue, leading to the fatal punch.

Lee Horton

Theft and racially aggravated public order offences

November 12, 2024

Sentence: 18 months imprisonment

Lee Horton, 45, formerly of St George’s Avenue, Sheerness, targeted a convenience store in Westgate, Canterbury on the evening of January 26, 2024. Staff spotted him leaving the shop without paying for chocolate. When followed outside and asked to return the item, he became abusive, shouted racist comments, and left the area. Officers were called just after 6pm to St Dunstan’s Street. An investigation led to his interview under caution and charges. He also admitted to multiple other thefts and a burglary.

Pleaded guilty to chocolate theft, two racially aggravated public order offences, six thefts of alcohol and groceries from Swale supermarkets between May 29 and June 14, and a burglary at Sports Direct in Queenborough on May 16. Judge imposed custodial sentence to reflect on actions.

Sources: kentlive.news

Jacob Bean

Grooming

November 1, 2024

Sentence: five-and-a-half years imprisonment

Jacob Bean, residing in Chartham near Canterbury, groomed a 10-year-old girl via Snapchat and WhatsApp, sending her child abuse videos and photos of his penis, and encouraging her to perform sex acts on herself. This occurred prior to his sentencing, and at the time, he was under investigation for grooming three other underage girls and making indecent images. On release, he would have been subject to indefinite sex offender notification requirements and a sexual harm prevention order.

Pleaded guilty to sexual communication with a child, making indecent images, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, and causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity. The victim's father expressed feelings of failure as a parent in a court statement.

Sources: devonlive.com

Abdurahrim Yalcin

Sexual Assault

October 30, 2024

Sentence: 18 months imprisonment, on sex offenders register for 10 years

Starting in 2022, Yalcin acted inappropriately towards a teenage girl, escalating to severe sexual assaults over and under clothing on multiple occasions, attempting to buy silence with clothes and money. Reported end of 2023.

Julian Martinez

Robbery

October 2, 2024

Sentence: 3 years imprisonment

On July 25, 2023, at 9.30pm on Station Road in Margate, Julian Martinez approached a victim driving away from the area whilst transporting items related to a jewellery business. He had been following them in a Mercedes parked nearby. After failing to enter the vehicle, he broke a window and snatched a bag from inside. The driver escaped, and a member of the public intervened, wrestling the bag back and returning it to the victim. Martinez fled in the Mercedes. He was identified through police enquiries, arrested on March 30, 2024, and charged the next day.

Pleaded guilty to the offence. Used aliases Gerado Escobedo Neri and Jason Chezez. Aged 46, of no fixed address.

Sources: kentlive.news

Qari Sher Mohammad

Sexual touching of a child

September 12, 2024

Sentence: 10 years imprisonment

Qari Sher Mohammad, 61, from Woodford Road, Forest Gate, London, sexually assaulted four children over nearly a decade while acting as an imam at a mosque in Thorold Road, Gillingham, between March 2014 and December 2023. Initial concerns raised in 2018, with further assaults reported in 2022-2023. One victim, now an adult, supported prosecution.

Convicted after trial on 16 indictments of sexual touching of a child. Subject to a 5-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order upon release.

Sources: kentlive.news

Joel Loba

Supply of class A drugs

September 11, 2024

Sentence: 5 years and 7 months imprisonment

Joel Loba, 27, from Westbrook Road, Margate, was arrested on June 25, 2024, at a property where officers seized three phones, £1,360 cash, and class A drugs. Investigations linked three phone numbers used for bulk marketing to drug users in Margate to Loba, confirming his role in supplying crack cocaine and heroin.

Pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, possession with intent to supply a controlled drug, and possession of criminal property.

Sources: kentlive.news

Dr Gregory Manson

Sexual assault

July 4, 2024

Sentence: 7 years imprisonment

Dr Gregory Manson, of Tower Way, Canterbury, conducted inappropriate and unnecessary intimate examinations on several male patients at Cossington House Surgery in Canterbury. Complaints led to an investigation starting in 2017, and he was arrested on February 21, 2018. He was charged with 24 offences and convicted of 14 counts of sexual assault and four counts of indecent assault.

Found guilty after a trial of sexual assault and indecent assault. Victims reported unnecessary intimate examinations not recorded in medical records.

Sources: kentlive.news

Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss

Murder

February 1, 2024

Sentence: Life imprisonment with a minimum term of 31 years

Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss ambushed Claire Knights, 54, while she was walking her dog near Minnis Bay on August 23, 2023. He sexually assaulted her, beat her, and stomped on her head, causing fractures and brain damage. He then hid her body in a dyke, where it was discovered two days later. Prior to this, he had pleaded guilty to upskirting another woman at his workplace the day before the murder.

Pleaded guilty to murder and upskirting. Sentence was increased by the Court of Appeal for being unduly lenient, with judges citing insufficient weight given to aggravating factors such as targeting a lone woman and hiding the body. He feigned symptoms of psychosis after arrest.

Sources: kentlive.news

Rafal Czajka

Importation of controlled drugs

January 18, 2024

Sentence: 9 years imprisonment

Rafal Czajka, a 39-year-old Polish national and lorry driver, attempted to smuggle 45 kilos of cocaine, worth an estimated £2.1 million at street level, into the UK. The drugs were hidden in six metal box sections built into the bulkhead of his trailer, covered by a wooden board secured with rivets. The lorry was stopped and searched by Border Force officers at the port of Dover on November 16, 2021. It also carried a legitimate load of ventilation blower parts from the Netherlands destined for Basingstoke, Hampshire. A rivet gun and pop rivets were found in the cab.

Daniel Whereatt

Importing heroin

January 5, 2024

Sentence: 6 years imprisonment

Daniel Whereatt, 48, of Seymour Road, Bristol, was stopped at Dover’s Eastern Docks on March 18, 2019, as he returned to the UK from Amsterdam. He claimed to have been on a day trip to Dunkirk, but phone analysis confirmed he was in Amsterdam picking up heroin. Border Force officers searched his car after noticing a strong smell of fuel and found 18 tape-wrapped packages submerged in the fuel sender tanks, containing 6kg of heroin worth £800,000 and 2kg of cutting agents (paracetamol and caffeine). His DNA was on a screwdriver and metal file near the concealment area. The vehicle was insured for only two days, believed to be solely for the drug importation.

Pleaded guilty to importing 6kg of heroin. DNA found on tools used to conceal the drugs.

Sources: independent.co.uk

Ross Patrick Deffley

Attempting to import class A drugs

December 7, 2023

Sentence: 10 years imprisonment

Ross Patrick Deffley, 26, of Solihull, West Midlands, attempted to smuggle 183kg of heroin and cocaine, valued at £16.5 million, hidden inside canisters of nitrous oxide within catering supplies. He was stopped at the Dover border on September 21 while driving a van. Border Force officers found the drugs concealed in the boxes, along with an extendable baton in the cab. His fingerprints and DNA were on packages containing 97kg of heroin and 86kg of cocaine. Deffley claimed the packages were for the catering industry but they were destined for a residential address he could access. He had set up companies to transport the nitrous oxide canisters used for smuggling.

Convicted of two counts of attempting to import class A drugs on November 30. Earlier convicted of possession of an offensive weapon. Subject to confiscation investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Sources: independent.co.uk

Jon Pughe

Robbery

June 10, 2022

Sentence: 6 years imprisonment

Jon Pughe, 41, of Clifftown Gardens, Herne Bay, Kent, entered a Post Office in Margate Road, Margate, on 12 February 2022, wearing a balaclava and holding a crowbar. He hit a female staff member in the face, stole a large amount of cash from the till, and fled in a white Renault van. He was later arrested in Herne Bay town centre after police linked him via CCTV footage showing a tear in his jeans matching those he was wearing.

Admitted robbery. Caught due to matching jeans in CCTV footage. DCI Keith Taylor commented on the violent actions and their terrifying impact on the victim.

Sources: courtnewsuk.co.uk

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