Maidstone Crown Court Sentencing Results

On 1 May 2017 in Wildernesse Avenue, Sevenoaks, a gang including Meizen used a Skoda Octavia fitted with police markings and blue lights to approach a home. One man posed as a police officer to gain entry, then four masked offenders, one with a sawn-off shotgun, forced their way in after cutting a hole in a fence. The victim was pushed to the floor and threatened, while a relative locked herself in a cupboard and triggered an alarm. The gang fled empty-handed. The fake police car was later set on fire in Nottingham. Meizen was identified as one of the main offenders.

Joseph Mooney, 44, from Enfield, London, falsely advertised himself as a professional masseur using a Facebook platform to target women in Medway and Swale, offering discounts under the guise of being a newly qualified masseur. He attended addresses of their choice, started massages, and then sexually assaulted the victims. Some victims were shown his false qualifications and noted he appeared sexually aroused during the treatments. Further victims were identified during the investigation into his bogus business.

Joseph Clarke, 46, broke into a residential property in Sittingbourne in 2019. He smashed a rear window and injured his hand, leaving a blood stain on a kitchen cupboard. He stole cash and a games console. The victims had left for church at 9:30am and returned three hours later to discover the burglary. DNA from the blood stain identified Clarke as the burglar. He pleaded guilty to burglary at Maidstone Crown Court on July 12 and was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment. The court heard he had no fixed address.

On 4 September 2018, John Gallagher, 49, turned up at a home in the Fant area of Maidstone wearing a high-vis tabard. Claiming a neighbour's flat was flooded, he told the woman in her 80s he needed to shut off the water supply. Once inside, he directed her into the kitchen and then went towards the bathroom, shouting instructions for her to turn taps on and off. The victim grew suspicious and ordered him to leave, but Gallagher had already stolen over £200 from her handbag. The entire episode was captured on CCTV, and he was arrested on 4 December 2018.

Jesse Eastwood spent months planning a targeted aggravated burglary at an elderly couple's home in Medway, which took place on the evening of 12 January 2026. During the incident the female victim was pulled to the ground and dragged inside while masked intruders attempted to rip rings from her fingers, and her husband was attacked with CS spray, beaten, and forced to hand over his watch. The attackers ransacked the home, stole watches and jewellery, locked the victims inside, and fled with their mobile phones.

Jason Wokeh, 20, of Woolwich, responded to online ad, viewed Rolex at Shepway address 9pm August 19, pulled 10-inch knife, threatened owner, stole watch worth >£10,000. CCTV identified, watch recovered.

Jason Bowers, 46, was one of two men who burgled a family home in Lower Halstow on 16 June 2018. The homeowner returned to find the house ransacked. CCTV captured the side of his accomplice's head and their getaway car, a silver Ford Focus estate. Police tracked the car to an address linked to the co-defendant and arrested both men near the vehicle. Bowers was found with the car's keys. He was convicted of two burglaries and also sentenced for driving while disqualified and uninsured.

At 11.40pm on 23 June 2023, Jake Simms travelled to the Co-op in Pound Road, East Peckham with an accomplice. They forced their way into the premises and stole two cash boxes before fleeing the scene in a Toyota Prius. Witnesses reported the incident, patrols identified and pursued the vehicle through south-east London with Metropolitan Police. The car collided with a police vehicle and Simms was detained in the driver’s seat. A bag containing a long screwdriver, gloves and a hammer discarded during the pursuit was recovered by a police dog handler. Simms, from Southwark, Greater London, was charged with burglary, dangerous driving, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.

Tyresse Johnson, 24, of Rainham, among masked intruders in violent house raid in Coxheath near Maidstone two days before Christmas. Armed with machete and crowbar, forced entry, savagely beat the two brothers. Baby and partner present. Stole 2-3kg cannabis and Tissot watch.

Thomas O’Sullivan was involved in a targeted aggravated burglary at an elderly couple's home in Medway on the evening of 12 January 2026. He had previously been befriended by the victims and used his inside knowledge to assist in planning the burglary, including mapping out the property and identifying valuables. During the incident the victims were assaulted and locked inside while watches, jewellery, and mobile phones were stolen.

Dono subjected his ex-partner to controlling and coercive behaviour during a 17-month relationship, isolating her from friends, monitoring her phone, damaging their flat, and using derogatory language. On 14 June 2025 in Tunbridge Wells, he punched her jaw around seven times while driving at about 40mph, threw her phone out of the window, and pushed her shoulder so that she fell from the open car door. He continued to harass her after the relationship ended, including making hundreds of calls, breaking into her home, and pressuring her not to support the prosecution while he was on remand.

Stephen Roche visited a pub near London Road in Rainham on 18 April 2025, approached a child he did not know, spoke to them briefly, and touched them under their clothing. The child immediately reported the incident to a relative and police were notified. Roche was arrested later the same day and charged with sexual assault.

Warren Young attacked a security van driver during a cash delivery in Rainham, Medway on 25 September 2019. He wrestled a cash box from the driver before fleeing in a black Nissan Qashqai driven by Samnit Sidhu. Police used ANPR to track the stolen vehicle and arrested Sidhu the same day. Young was arrested the next day and around £10,000 in cash was found hidden in a basement carrier bag at his home.

Solomon Howard, 24, of Gillingham, among masked intruders in violent house raid in Coxheath near Maidstone two days before Christmas. Armed with machete and crowbar, forced entry, savagely beat the brothers. Baby and partner present. Stole 2-3kg cannabis and Tissot watch.

Stephen Chambers, 35, of Maidstone, attempted to break into a property on 16 June 2019. After failing to get in through the front door, he smashed a glass conservatory door at the back to gain entry. Two alert residents spotted him acting suspiciously, found signs of forced entry, chased him down, and held him until police arrived. CCTV footage later showed Chambers tampering with the front door using pieces of a paint roller through the letterbox. He was charged with burglary.

Stephen Madge repeatedly abused a teenage boy throughout 1993 while working with a charity project. He developed an obsessive fixation on the victim, whom he first met in 1993. The abuse came to light in November 2014 when Kent Police were informed. He was arrested at his home in Sevenoaks in May 2015. Despite his denials, a jury found him guilty of all six counts of indecent assault.