Lewes Crown Court Sentencing Results

Bronnie Richards drove the group from Bexhill to Brighton on two nights, including the night of the Norwich Crescent fire on 25 September 2023. She was involved in starting the fire at the flat as part of a campaign over a drug debt. The fire self-extinguished before causing serious damage.

Marcus Murphy was involved in starting a fire at a flat in Bevendean, Brighton, on 25 September 2023. He drove from Bexhill with others as part of a revenge attack over a £23,000 drug debt. The fire quickly died out and caused only minor damage.

Callum Radband, aged 26, was the direct perpetrator who poured petrol and set fire to two Brighton flats on 25 September 2023, in a campaign linked to a £23,000 drug debt. The first fire, at Stonehurst Court, endangered the life of the sole occupant, who was trapped in her first-floor flat and had to climb out of a window with her dog; her home was completely destroyed. The second fire at Norwich Crescent caused minor damage before it extinguished. Radband had previously been jailed for aggravated burglary and was on licence at the time. He was acquitted of involvement in the Range Rover fire due to lack of evidence.

Elle-Mai Dunford, aged 21, recruited others and filmed Callum Radband as he started fires at two Brighton flats on 25 September 2023, as part of a campaign of terror over a £23,000 drug debt. The first fire was set at a flat in Brighton, believed to belong to an intended victim, but actually occupied by an innocent woman, the victim, who escaped out of a bathroom window with her dog after the stairs were engulfed in flames; the entire flat was destroyed, with repair costs estimated at £60,000–£80,000. The second fire was started shortly afterwards at a flat in Bevendean, thought to belong to another intended victim, but the fire quickly died out. The night before, Dunford was involved in setting fire to a Range Rover outside a victim’s home, causing £14,000 damage. Dunford pleaded guilty to all charges.

On Sunday 24 March 2024, George Horsted and Damien Lee were involved in a confrontation at the Toby Carvery in Goring Road, Worthing. Horsted punched one victim twice, knocking out three of his front teeth. After the pair left the pub, Lee fetched a kitchen knife from his nearby flat. When that victim and another victim approached them in the street to ask why Horsted had hit the victim, Horsted became violent again, wrestled the knife from Lee, and stabbed the other victim in the abdomen. The other victim lost significant blood and feared he would die. Horsted and Lee then fled to Lee’s flat, changed clothes, and escaped. Following a public appeal, they handed themselves in to police in early April. Both were charged and convicted of unlawful wounding after a trial.

On Sunday 24 March 2024, George Horsted and Damien Lee were involved in a confrontation at the Toby Carvery in Goring Road, Worthing. Horsted punched a victim twice, knocking out three of his front teeth. After the pair left the pub, Lee fetched a kitchen knife from his nearby flat. When the victim and another victim approached them in the street to ask why Horsted had hit the victim, Horsted became violent again, wrestled the knife from Lee, and stabbed the other victim in the abdomen. The other victim lost significant blood and feared he would die. Horsted and Lee then fled to Lee’s flat, changed clothes, and escaped. Following a public appeal, they handed themselves in to police in early April. Both were charged and convicted of unlawful wounding after a trial.

On 19 April 2024 at around 11.59pm, Amelia King drove the wrong way along the A2011 Crawley Avenue dual carriageway for approximately 1.25km after ignoring 'no entry' signs, and collided head-on with another car. She had a blood alcohol level of 92 milligrams per 100 millilitres, exceeding the legal limit of 80 milligrams. Her passenger sustained a fractured jaw, rib, arm and back, requiring surgery and a long hospital stay. The other driver suffered a fractured rib and blunt abdominal trauma, also requiring significant hospital treatment.

On 12 May 2023, Joseph Charlott attacked a 77-year-old pensioner in Hastings. He used a knuckleduster to smash the victim's motorhome, then knocked the victim to the ground and kicked him repeatedly after the victim called 999. The victim suffered serious injuries including a fractured shoulder blade, ribs and chest bone. Charlott was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, assaulting an emergency worker, possessing an offensive weapon and criminal damage. He had been caught with a knuckleduster and spat at a police officer the day before the main attack, went on the run for three months, and violently resisted arrest in August by jumping from a second-floor window and fighting three officers.

On 4 August 2024, during a week of rioting and disorder after the Southport stabbings, Max Ritchings posted an Instagram video threatening to burn down a mosque. Later the same day, he stood on a phone box near Brighton's Palace Pier, draped in a St George's flag, shouting anti-Islamic abuse and telling foreigners to leave the country. The incident coincided with the end of Brighton Pride weekend.

Robbie Cook, angered by a £3,500 drug deal involving fake cannabis (popcorn), pursued a Citroen Berlingo driven by the victim through residential streets in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on February 13, 2023. The vehicles reached speeds over 50mph, collided, and the Citroen crashed into a tree, killing the victim, the victim, and the victim. Cook, familiar with the area, slowed at a junction, then searched the crashed vehicle with a torch without calling for help, and later destroyed his phone to pervert justice.

On 12 March 2022 at around 10pm, a man in his 20s was picked up by Megan McQuade and taken to Underhill Lane, Clayton. When parked next to another car, Christopher Smith and Stephen McNicol got out and viciously attacked the victim, threatening to stab him and tasering him. The victim suffered two broken wrists but escaped and called a friend. All three suspects fled. The attack was pre‑planned.

On 12 March 2022 at around 10pm, Megan McQuade picked up a man in his 20s and drove him to Underhill Lane, Clayton, where Christopher Smith and Stephen McNicol were waiting. They viciously attacked the victim, threatening to stab him and tasering him, causing two broken wrists. McQuade’s phone records linked her to the conspiracy.

Elliott Leonard-Diss drove dangerously between Uckfield and Hailsham in the early hours of 28 May 2024, repeatedly overtaking and undertaking. He lost control of a silver Mercedes on the A22 Uckfield bypass, crashed into other vehicles, and ended up in a bush. Police were called to the three-car collision at about 7:15am. He was over the legal alcohol limit (81µg per 100ml breath) and tested positive for cocaine (82µg benzoylecgonine per litre blood).

On 11.55pm on September 6, 2023, Emma Roberts, 43, of Reigate, drove a black Jaguar at high speed, reaching 74mph in a 30mph zone, and lost control on the A270 Lewes Road in Brighton. She swerved into a bus shelter, striking a university student in his 20s who was waiting for a bus. The victim suffered life-threatening injuries including a fractured skull, brain bleed, broken spine, and multiple internal injuries, and was in a coma. He required multiple surgeries. Roberts was found to be more than three times over the legal alcohol limit. She pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Georgina Epitropou, 42, and her sister Laura stole high-value perfumes, make-up and other cosmetics from duty-free shops at Gatwick Airport, estimated to be worth at least £80,000, over a 10-month period up to September 2022. They sold the items via online marketplaces or direct to purchasers, making around £40,000. Laura took 21 flights from Gatwick, mainly to Edinburgh, with Georgina joining later. On one occasion, they stole 73 items worth almost £8,000. They were arrested boarding a flight to Belfast from Gatwick with stolen items worth almost £2,000 in their suitcase. The thefts funded their lavish lifestyles, including cosmetic surgery, and were done to order with significant planning.

Laura Epitropou, 45, and her sister Georgina stole high-value perfumes, make-up and other cosmetics from duty-free shops at Gatwick Airport, estimated to be worth at least £80,000, over a 10-month period up to September 2022. They sold the items via online marketplaces or direct to purchasers, making around £40,000. Laura took 21 flights from Gatwick, mainly to Edinburgh, with Georgina joining later. On one occasion, they stole 73 items worth almost £8,000. They were arrested boarding a flight to Belfast from Gatwick with stolen items worth almost £2,000 in their suitcase. The thefts funded their lavish lifestyles, including cosmetic surgery, and were done to order with significant planning.

On 13 November 2023, Alex Reynolds set fire to a maisonette in St Mark's Close, Bexhill, causing significant damage to the property and the roof. Six fire engines attended the blaze. He was arrested and released under investigation. On 19 March 2024, he set fire to an empty industrial building in Theaklen Drive, St Leonards, leading to a fire service call-out with four engines. DNA evidence linked him to the scene, and he was arrested nearby. The arsons occurred a few miles apart, with Reynolds escalating his offending and risking lives.

Anas Al Mustafa trafficked seven people, including six men and one woman, in a concealed compartment of a specially-adapted van from Dieppe, France, to Newhaven, East Sussex, on February 16, 2024. The migrants were deprived of oxygen and water, leading to severe conditions such as dehydration, a possible heart attack, acute kidney injury, and a stroke for one man. They were discovered screaming for help during the ferry journey, prompting an emergency response. Crew members used an axe to free them from the compartment, which was extremely narrow and forced them to stand without movement.

Nigel Evendon was involved in a UK-wide organised drug supply operation, one of the biggest in Sussex. Police executed a warrant at his address in Halland, near Lewes, on 26 February 2024, seizing 3kg of ketamine, 500g of cocaine, ecstasy (MDMA), multiple bags of cannabis, four bags of magic mushrooms, £700 in cash, and various offensive weapons including truncheons, knives, and firearms. The investigation began in 2023, and Evendon was arrested at the property.

Damien O'Hare, 48, of no fixed address, committed 26 shoplifting offences between March and June 2024, predominantly at a Co-op in Dorsten Square, Bewbush, Crawley, as well as a number of other stores. He would enter the store, take goods from shelves, and leave without paying in full view of staff. On some occasions when challenged, he threatened to violently assault a female member of staff. He was already subject to a criminal behaviour order banning him from entering any Co-op store in Sussex. He pleaded guilty at Crawley Magistrates' Court on 10 June 2024.

Laurence Harvey, 65, of Horsham, sent £46,467 to people in the Philippines between 2 September 2011 and 9 August 2021 in return for indecent images of children. He communicated directly with children, asking them to perform sexual acts, and in one instance paid a woman for images of a child she claimed was her daughter. He claimed the money was for charitable purposes or for adult online sex acts. He was arrested in May 2022 and devices seized contained sexual images and communications with children. He pleaded guilty to arranging the commission of a child sex offence, possession of an indecent photograph of a child, two counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and two counts of arranging the sexual exploitation of a child under 13.

Kiarash Majidi and Michael Rodgers carried out a series of arson and criminal damage offences across East Sussex in August 2023, smashing windows at multiple properties, setting a car on fire, slashing a swimming pool and causing a basement flood. They were caught after a resident reported them and police found weapons and petrol in their vehicle.

James Wadhawan, 35, of Penzance, was issued a Child Abduction Warning Notice in January 2024 following reports of inappropriate contact with a teenage girl. On March 9, 2024, he was seen with the victim in Lancing and arrested. He was released on bail with strict conditions but was found with the girl again on March 13, 2024, on a bridge in Lancing, leading to his arrest. He was charged with two counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15 and one count of child abduction, and remanded in custody.