Southampton Crown Court Sentencing Results

Kornel Marcinek, under the influence of a controlled drug and uninsured, drove a vehicle that collided with the victim on Hill Lane, Southampton, at 9.58pm on Friday, July 23. The 33-year-old cyclist suffered serious injuries and died in Southampton General Hospital the following day.

On 2nd September, Jonathon Schindler (25), of Holbury, sent a voicenote to his ex-partner, who was pregnant and had split from him earlier in the year, stating: “I’ll kill your man, I’ll kill him. Do you know how f***** in the head I am? I will K-I-L-L him.” He stated he did not want her new partner around their children. He was arrested following a no-comment interview. Defence claimed no intention to carry out the threat, only to warn off the new partner, and expressed deep regret.

During a home visit on 14 June, officers found that 26-year-old Jordan Larcombe of Southampton had been messaging a woman over WhatsApp with the ‘disappearing messages’ facility enabled, meaning messages would disappear after 24 hours. In one message, he told the woman she could flirt with him as he had just enabled disappearing messages. He was arrested, charged with breaching his SHPO handed on 5 April 2017, and remanded to court.

Martin Ralfs, 58, from Southampton, sped at up to 127mph on the M27 and A31 while over the drink-drive limit. During a police pursuit he rammed three police cars, causing two to be written off and three officers to be injured. The motorway was closed for hours for forensic investigation.

Matthew Parker, a former Red Funnel first officer, contacted a person he believed was a 13-year-old boy on Grindr and other apps. The person was actually an adult decoy. Parker arranged to meet at Thorpe Park in July 2018, where police were waiting and arrested him. His messages included talk of kissing and cuddling, though no explicit photos were shared and no further physical meeting occurred.

Max Etheridge led police on a high-speed pursuit through Totton and Ower on the A36 on 18th June, reaching speeds of up to 90mph, weaving in and out of traffic and causing oncoming vehicles to take evasive action. During the 25-minute pursuit he drove with his headlights off at times, reversed towards a police car, collided with another police vehicle and crashed into a tree. He then fled through a churchyard, leaving his female passenger in the wrecked van. He was more than twice the drink-drive limit. The van belonged to his employer and was used outside work hours, leaving the owner £23,000 out of pocket. Two weeks later he drove a Land Rover Freelander while disqualified and uninsured, and the vehicle had false registration plates.

Michael Harris, a cleaning company manager from Bitterne Park, Southampton, engaged in sexually explicit communications with a child between 16 June and 4 August 2018.

Simon Patrick Westwood, aged 46, of Eastleigh exchanged messages, often of a highly sexual nature, with children he believed to be real between January 2021 and October 2021 in the Eastleigh area. He made arrangements and travelled to an agreed location to meet with the child, although the victims were not real. Charged with attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

Member of gang smuggling phones into HMP Winchester, involved in possession and criminal property dealings, part of operation from early 2015 exposed by phone forensics in April 2015.

Steven Oxborrow, a local children’s martial arts instructor and children’s entertainer aged 33 of Wootton, sexually abused three children on multiple occasions over a seven year period between January 2005 and June 2012 in the Wootton and New Milton areas. One victim came forward at age 12 after inappropriate messages were found on a family computer. Investigation uncovered further victims and indecent images on his computer.

Terrance Mark Day was convicted of grooming and engaging in sexual activity with a child under 16. He was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment at Southampton Crown Court in December 2015.

On 30 July 2021, officers arrested McDowall at his home address in Southampton and seized two laptops and a hard drive. Forensic examinations revealed 47,517 indecent images stored across these devices from March 2012 to July 2021, including 9,294 Category A images depicting babies, toddlers and teenagers being abused, and a handful depicting acts of bestiality. In his police interview, McDowall admitted viewing indecent images online for 20 years and described himself as a ‘lurker’.

On a date in December 2015, Samie Bellows and Xavier Whyte used a stolen BMW with false plates to stake out the Sainsbury’s car park in Bitterne precinct, Southampton. When a cash delivery driver collected £30,000, Bellows, concealing his face, chased and ambushed the driver, snatched the cash box, and jumped into the getaway car where Whyte was waiting. They sped off, leaving the driver shaken but unharmed. The cash was never recovered. After CCTV reviews, forensic tests, and mobile phone tracking, both were arrested in early 2016 and later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob at Southampton Crown Court on 27 June 2017.

Thomas Amos committed multiple shoplifting offences over a six-week period between 23 November and 6 January: fragrances (£209) from John Lewis West Quay on 23 November; electric toothbrush (£300) from Boots Above Bar Street on 27 November; fragrances (£145) from John Lewis WestQuay on 28 November; gift sets (£98) from Boots Above Bar Street on 28 November; fragrances (£901) from John Lewis West Quay on 30 November; clothing (£842) from John Lewis West Quay on 7 December; clothing (£587) from John Lewis WestQuay on 13 December; fragrances (£407) from John Lewis WestQuay on 16 December; fragrances (£560) from John Lewis West Quay on 21 December; alcohol (£449) from John Lewis West Quay on 24 December; clothing (£1388) from John Lewis WestQuay on 4 January. He also breached a restraining order by entering John Lewis during this period.

Richard Moore, 43, from Newport, was caught in an undercover operation by the 'S.K.I.D Community' after sending explicit messages and naked photos of himself to a decoy posing as a 12-year-old girl named 'India'. He planned to meet the girl at her auntie's house in Southampton on January 6 and was arrested on Portswood Road on that day.

Robert Mackay (41) of Lymington poured diesel from a jerry can over his neighbour’s front door in Shrubbs Avenue on 30 August 2025, following a row the previous evening and an exchange of texts. He attempted to ignite the diesel with a lighter. The diesel leaked under the door causing £3,000 damage to carpets and floorboards. The victim was terrified, fearing he might die in a fire.

Police raided Robert Wiseman's home in New Milton on 21 December 2021 following a National Crime Agency investigation. They found firearm components with which he had progressed far towards creating a .22 revolver, plans for making a pistol, ammunition, manuals, and tools relating to weapons. An expert completed the revolver to demonstrate its viability, and a video of it being fired was released. Wiseman told officers everyone should be able to use firearms.

Dr Andrew Semple and Samantha Semple-Thomas caused unnecessary suffering to five donkeys (Fire, Sooty, River, Rosie, Ruby) and failed to ensure their needs between January and March 2024 in a field off Hatchet Lane in Beaulieu. RSPCA found donkeys underweight with poor coats, eating mouldy hay, struggling in thick mud, with mud fever and dental ulcers causing painful ulcers. One donkey found dead with missing eye.

On a date in December 2015, Samie Bellows and Xavier Whyte used a stolen BMW with false plates to stake out the Sainsbury’s car park in Bitterne precinct, Southampton. When a cash delivery driver collected £30,000, Bellows, concealing his face, chased and ambushed the driver, snatched the cash box, and jumped into the getaway car where Whyte was waiting. They sped off, leaving the driver shaken but unharmed. The cash was never recovered. After CCTV reviews, forensic tests, and mobile phone tracking, both were arrested in early 2016 and later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob at Southampton Crown Court on 27 June 2017.

On the night of December 22, 2017, Samuel Woolley, 27, was driving his Ford Focus along Brownhill Way, Southampton, around midnight when he struck cyclist the victim, 32. The victim died later the same day in hospital. Instead of helping, Woolley fled the scene. Police investigation revealed he had visited three pubs and consumed at least six pints and a Jägermeister shot between mid-afternoon and midnight. An expert used a later breath sample to prove he was over the drink-drive limit at the time of the collision. Woolley's father tipped off police after he confessed to the crash.

Sara Hasell conducted a stalking campaign against her ex-partner after their relationship ended in September 2023. She made false claims to social services, the mother of his children, and police alleging drug use and abuse. She bombarded him with 651 calls in 17 days, 200 calls on another occasion with 100 voicemails, and sent threatening emails including wishes for him to overdose and lose his children. She also targeted his new partner's child with false safety claims, leading to confrontations and separations. This resulted in the victim being unable to see his children for two years, suffering severe psychological harm including an overdose attempt, and impacts on his new partner's family.

On 2 March 2021, during an incident in Eastleigh involving two groups of young people targeting each other with weapons from early afternoon through to evening, Seamus Brenden Sean Ford was seen on CCTV attempting to stab an individual.

Nathan Riddy (31), of New Milton, admitted three offences of attempted child sexual activity: two counts of attempting to cause a child under the age of 13 to watch/look at sexual activity, and one of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Peter Black was involved in a protest against police following a murder trial. During the disorder, 12 police officers were injured after bricks, bottles and other objects were thrown at them. He had previously been jailed for ordering a semi-automatic handgun on the dark web from America.