Maidstone Crown Court Sentencing Results

Lee Whiting, 31, of no fixed address, carried out a spree of shoplifting at a Strood supermarket in November 2017. Over five visits to the Commercial Road store he stole more than £700 worth of meat, stuffing a plastic bag each time and leaving without paying. On his final visit, when confronted by security guards, he pulled a knife and threatened them before fleeing. Staff were left in fear of being seriously harmed.

Loui Curtis, 27, from Gillingham, was driving his black BMW 320D on the Londonbound carriageway of the M2 close to junction 5 exit on Monday 3 August 2020 when it collided with the rear of a blue Toyota Yaris at 12:50am. He was speeding at 108mph and had composed and sent a message on his phone just prior to the collision, causing the victim's car to accelerate by 40mph in one tenth of a second. The 34-year-old victim from Rochester died at the scene.

Luke Barling received more than £350,000 from 16 separate mostly elderly and retired victims of various frauds, including scams involving fake land purchases, rogue traders, diamond sales, and fake investments in ISAs and savings accounts. He accepted and spent large amounts of cash paid into two bank accounts opened between February and June 2020 during the first Covid-19 lockdown, with sums also transferred to unknown recipients. There was no evidence he was involved in the frauds themselves.

Luke French snuck onto Medway Maritime Hospital grounds around 10pm on 5 September 2018 and deliberately set two fires dangerously close to oxygen tanks and mobile MRI scanners, less than a metre from lorries housing the equipment. He ignited rubbish in an outdoor cage and a wheelie bin. Hospital staff extinguished the flames before serious damage occurred. French was arrested shortly after by Kent Police and later pleaded guilty to recklessly endangering life by arson.

Luke Gilleeney, from Gravesend, was arrested in December 2014 when his fingerprints were found on a false registration plate attached to a stolen Range Rover located close to his home address in Grange Road. Days later, Kent Police located another stolen Range Rover advertised for sale, along with a stolen Audi Q3 and another vehicle registered to a family member, all near his home. The combined value of the three stolen vehicles was around £111,000. Gilleeney admitted in interview that he had taken possession of the vehicles on behalf of unnamed associates and was attempting to sell them. Charged in January 2015, he was released on bail but fled to Marbella in Spain. He returned to the UK and was re-arrested at a new address in Meopham in December 2021.

Early in the morning on 9 August 2020, in Union Street, Maidstone, Luke Priestman, who was holding a glass and appeared angry, struck a man in his 40s with the glass after the victim tried to persuade him to put it down. The glass smashed, causing a large cut to the victim's left ear. Priestman was pulled away by associates and the group fled the scene.

Marcus Towner, 30, from West Malling, conducted a campaign of harassment against a woman, including physical assaults, threats to harm her and her family, and controlling behaviour that forced her to change jobs and appearance. He repeatedly appeared at her address and left a phone to abuse and threaten her. Separately, on 6 April 2021, police found 12 bags of cocaine worth £17,000 and 47 bags of cannabis worth £13,000 during a search in Ryarsh, West Malling.

Greg Toole and Maria Toole attacked a 60-year-old woman during an engagement party at a Holborough Road venue on 18 January 2017. After the victim got into a taxi, Maria Toole chased her, dragged her to the ground, punched her repeatedly, and pulled her by the hair. Greg Toole joined in, kicking and stamping on her chest while she lay helpless. The victim suffered a fractured sternum, neck and spine injuries. The Tooles were arrested two days later and charged with grievous bodily harm.

Maricel Stanescu and Ciprian Mihai carried out a distraction theft spree targeting over 30 businesses across Kent, Sussex, and Surrey between 16 and 26 April 2019. They entered shops, salons, and surgeries, with one distracting staff by speaking a foreign language and brandishing a leaflet while the other stole mobile phones. Police tracked a Volkswagen Passat linked to up to 35 thefts and arrested both men as they drove into Tunbridge Wells on 26 April. They pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle at Maidstone Crown Court. Detective Constable Tony Hatcher indicated they were part of a wider organised crime network.

Mario Nicolae was caught running a brothel at a property in Downs Avenue, Dartford after neighbours reported numerous men visiting at all hours. He rented the property and managed the brothel, taking half the earnings from sex workers. He initially denied this, claiming he provided massage services, but police found paperwork showing he regularly transferred thousands of pounds to a Gibraltar bank account. He was convicted of managing a brothel, inciting prostitution, and money laundering.

On the evening of Wednesday 24 August 2021 Irwine attended a former partner’s home in Rochester where he assaulted her and stole her car. He returned a while later and entered the home through a front window before threatening his victim with a knife. He also made threats to harm her family and shouted at children who were present. Irwine then further assaulted the woman before police arrived and he was arrested. During a search of the property officers found a knife discarded in a bowl of water.

Kyle Pepperell, 36, formerly of an address in Gillingham, exchanged several explicit messages with who he believed to be a 13-year-old girl between January and February 2021. He requested that intimate images be sent to him via WhatsApp, which he also used to post an indecent video of himself. The messages were later reported to Kent Police and Pepperell was arrested on Friday 5 March 2021.

Kristian Petik, 19, filmed a teenage girl engaged in a sexual act on 19 March 2018. He then shared the footage on social media between 19 and 25 March 2018. He admitted taking one indecent image of a child and distributing it on three separate occasions.

Kristiyan Trendafilov, from Tunbridge Wells, who only held a provisional licence, took a relative's Toyota Avensis without permission and drove alone on the evening of 7 October 2018 on the A228 at Colts Hill near Tunbridge Wells. Having consumed alcohol and cannabis at a barbeque earlier that day, with blood tests showing significant alcohol and cannabis levels over the legal limit, he lost control attempting to negotiate a bend shortly before 11.15pm and drove head-on into a Fiat 500 carrying an 83-year-old woman and her 82-year-old husband. The collision forced the Fiat into a hedgerow; the woman died several days later in hospital, and her husband died in January 2019 after months in hospital. Trendafilov's car spun into a ditch and caught fire; he escaped serious injury.

Between August and December 2014, over £510,000 was laundered through the Latom 'O' Store, a mini-market on Batchelor Street, Chatham, which was registered as a legitimate money service business but used as a front for global fraud. Victims from Australia, New Zealand and the US were tricked through fake romance, 'friends in need' and lottery scams. Bryan was a key player in the money laundering operation. The money was funnelled through him and a Crawley-based associate linked to a separate £750,000 laundering scheme. Both were arrested in October 2015.

On 18 August 2022, the victim, in his 20s, went to a flat in Upper Grosvenor Road, Tunbridge Wells, to discuss a dispute over a clothing purchase involving one of the occupants. He met Kojo O’Hene, known by the nickname ‘Knowledge’, who unexpectedly attacked him with a knife. The victim suffered a total of seven stab wounds, protected himself by placing his arms over his head and pulling his legs up to his chest. He escaped, drove to a property in Belgrave Road seeking assistance, where members of the public provided first aid until police and paramedics arrived. The victim was hospitalised for life-threatening injuries. Blood traces and discarded blood-stained clothing were found at the scene.

Kevin Machin was part of a gang that imported drugs and counterfeit cigarettes into the UK from the continent. The gang operated between October 2011 and April 2013. Machin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import amphetamine sulphate and was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court.

On Thursday 29 July 2021, Liam French and Max Cuthbert broke into an address in Collet Walk, Gillingham, and stole car-keys from the victim’s handbag before making off with their car. In the early hours of Friday 30 July, the offenders broke into another property in Hawbeck Road. The victim became alert to the intruders after noticing torch light beams and called out, causing the men to flee. Less than an hour later, they targeted a third property in Howbury Walk, and stole a handbag containing various items, including a bank card, cash, perfumes, and car-keys, which they used to make off with the victim’s car. Arrested at 3.59am after a police pursuit along Long Catlis Road, Rainham, to the Isle of Sheppey, where they drove at 70mph in 30mph zones. One vehicle stopped after a stinger was deployed.

Lee Kitchiner helped force the victim into a cellar at a private address in Chatham in the early hours of 10 September 2020, where she was threatened, subjected to a prolonged and violent assault, raped and forced to engage in sexual activity. She escaped later that day.

Lewis Barovbe and Stephen Gillard repeatedly attacked a vulnerable victim at his home near the Tideway in Rochester on 4 July 2022 and 7 July 2022. They were using the property to store supplies of Class A drugs. After the victim panicked and flushed a large quantity of crack cocaine down the toilet, they demanded £1,000. Barovbe kicked the man several times and stabbed the side of his head with scissors. Three days later, Barovbe assaulted the victim again, smashed a mirror over his head, and stabbed him several times with a shard of broken glass. Gillard dragged the victim back inside when he tried to seek help. The victim was forced to clean up blood with bleach and dispose of the broken mirror.

Frank Matthews, Jimmy Price and Lewis Collins conspired to steal livery valued at around £100,000 at up to eight separate properties between 3 May and 17 May 2020. The gang targeted stables and other rural premises during the hours of darkness in areas including Faversham, Paddock Wood, East Peckham, Mereworth, Blue Bell Hill, Sittingbourne, Kemsing and Maidstone. Forcing open doors and disabling alarms, the men stole equine equipment before making off in vehicles, sometimes across open fields. After a break-in at stables near Bearsted, Maidstone on 17 May, investigators identified the suspects had been using a Vauxhall Zafira. On the following day, a patrol saw the vehicle in Cranbourne Avenue, Maidstone and indicated for the driver to stop. Officers arrested Matthews and his two passengers, Price and Collins.

On Saturday 28 September 2019, at around 10.30pm, Lewis Hayes arrived at the Eagle Tavern public house on Rochester High Street. At midnight, as bar staff asked customers to leave, Hayes spoke to a man in his 40s whom he did not know, they shook hands, but as the victim turned to leave, Hayes pushed him with considerable force causing him to fall backwards onto a table and chairs. Hayes then kicked the victim’s head while he was lying on the floor. Door staff intervened and ejected Hayes. The victim suffered serious head injuries including a fractured skull and remains in serious condition receiving ongoing care.