Woolwich Crown Court Sentencing Results

Martin Asolo-Agogua, a 23-year-old bus driver, attended his shift on August 3, 2023, after staying up all night at a party and smoking cannabis. He was seen yawning and nodding off while driving a double-decker bus in Bexleyheath, which swerved erratically onto the pavement on Watling Street, striking and killing the nine-year-old victim, who was cycling with her five-year-old brother and father. The incident occurred as she was heading to her gymnastics class. Asolo-Agogua had obtained his driving licence in January 2023 and was employed by Arriva by January 2024, during which time there were multiple complaints about his driving, including a brief suspension that was later lifted.

Ben Worden, from Welling, sent sexual messages and videos to decoy accounts posing as 13 and 14-year-old girls on Facebook in late 2023. He encouraged one to masturbate, expressed a desire to have sex with her, and requested explicit photos. The messages were reported to the police, leading to his arrest and guilty plea.

Gareth Waite, a 47-year-old man from the Cardigan area of Ceredigion, was sentenced following a thorough investigation led by Counter Terrorism Policing Wales. He was found guilty of multiple terrorism-related offences involving dissemination of terrorist publications and possession of useful materials, as well as prior guilty plea to supporting the proscribed organisation National Action.

Anjem Choudary, a radical preacher from Ilford, was involved in directing the terrorist organisation Al-Muhajiroun (ALM). He took on the role of 'caretaker emir' in 2014 and continued to influence and radicalise a new generation of extremists through online lectures on encrypted platforms. He encouraged and assisted numerous individuals to join and fight for Daesh (also known as ISIL or ISIS). Choudary was arrested at his home on July 17, 2023, following investigations by the Metropolitan Police, MI5, and international partners in New York and Canada. The crimes spanned several years and involved covert recordings of his activities.

Cavan Hanna, along with his brother Jamie, ran a £3.5 million cocaine empire from Dartford, orchestrating the distribution of cocaine across the UK using encrypted phones and laundering over £1 million in cash. They were central figures in one of the biggest drug networks in the region.

Jamie Hanna, along with his brother Cavan, ran a £3.5 million cocaine empire from Dartford, orchestrating the distribution of cocaine across the UK using encrypted phones and laundering over £1 million in cash. They were central figures in one of the biggest drug networks in the region.

Yea Ping Chan, 42, and co-defendant Foo Khong Heow, 49, both from Lewisham, abused three children in their care at their Baring Road home. On 1 September 2017, police were called after an NSPCC tip-off about a three-year-old girl with severe bruising on her cheeks, arms, and neck. The two older children, a six-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy, said Chan punished the youngest for biting her nails. CCTV footage revealed 170 hours of abuse, showing Chan dragging the child by her hair, biting, shaking, hitting, and forcing her into stress positions, as well as stuffing cloths into her mouth and sitting on her body. Doctors identified 54 non-accidental injuries on the youngest victim. Both adults pleaded guilty to cruelty charges.

Tyrone Ludlow, 35, of Lane Avenue, Greenhithe, threw a mobile phone at his ex-partner on 19 January 2022, narrowly missing her head and damaging a wall, then destroyed a television and ripped off a kitchen cupboard door while shouting abuse. She obtained a non-molestation order which he breached twice in April by sending text messages. On 16 April 2022, he was captured on doorbell camera carrying a petrol can to her address in Gravesend, causing an explosion that destroyed her garden shed by fire while she was home with her three children.

Danny Mackney, from Sidcup, Greater London, groomed his young victim before bombarding them with sexually explicit messages and images, demanding they send some in return. Subjected his victim to countless instances of sexual abuse between 2018 and 2020. Arrested in November 2020.

Chao Xu targeted women, many of them students or acquaintances, by inviting them to his home or workplace under the guise of social or professional events. He prepared a cocktail called 'The Spirit of Life' containing alcohol, Chinese herbal substances and stupefying drugs such as GHB and Scopolamine. Once incapacitated, victims were filmed and sexually assaulted. Hidden cameras were discovered inside everyday household objects including air fresheners and packets of sanitary pads, and officers uncovered hundreds of covert recordings, including upskirting on the London Underground. The offending spanned approximately three years.

Charlotte Head drove a prison van into the compound of the Elbit Systems factory near Bristol in August 2024 during a planned raid by Palestine Action activists. The group caused £1.2 million worth of damage. The raid was livestreamed and posted on social media. Head was convicted of criminal damage.

Foo Khong Heow, 49, from Lewisham, abused three children in his and Chan’s care. On 1 September 2017, police discovered a three-year-old girl with extensive bruising. CCTV footage showed Heow beating the two younger children with a stick and forcing his feet into the three-year-old’s mouth. The abuse was captured over 170 hours, revealing almost daily violence. He pleaded guilty to cruelty against the children.

Freddie Bell, from Patterdale Road, Dartford, hid a self-loading pistol and ten bullets inside a drawstring sports bag. He locked the bag in a locker in the men’s changing room at a gym on Darenth Road. Gym staff cut the padlock after he broke the no-overnight locker policy and found the weapon. On 1 November 2019, Bell came to the gym asking about his missing property, described the bag accurately, and was later arrested on 18 November. He pleaded guilty at Woolwich Crown Court.

Fatema Rajwani took part in the raid on the Elbit Systems factory near Bristol in August 2024, which resulted in £1.2 million of damage. The raid was livestreamed and shared on social media. Rajwani was convicted of criminal damage following a retrial.

On 17 September 2020, police stopped a vehicle in Dagenham containing four handguns and ammunition linked to a firearms deal arranged by Blaine Nurden from prison. Phone analysis identified Billy Flynn as a customer; a handset seized from Hayden Nurden showed a text to Flynn asking him to bring the ‘5500 x 2’, suggesting £5,500 per firearm.

On 20 May 2020, Billy Hibberd confronted a group of young people on North Cray Road in Erith, having earlier challenged them in a park over comments he believed were about his relative. A 19-year-old woman asked him to leave them alone. He punched her in the face, knocking her unconscious and causing a broken collarbone and cracked skull. Police released CCTV images, leading to his arrest and conviction.

On 17 September 2020, from within prison, Blaine Nurden arranged a firearms deal involving four handguns and ammunition found in a vehicle stopped in Dagenham. Mobile phone call records identified him as the organiser, with his brother Hayden Nurden and Billy Flynn as customers.

Carla Russ drove her Mercedes at over 100mph on the A2 near Darenth at dawn on 17 February 2018, struck a motorcyclist, and dragged him nearly 200 metres. The victim suffered horrific life-altering injuries, was hospitalised for three months, and has undergone numerous surgeries with ongoing difficulties returning to work. Russ fled the scene and was tracked down by police 36 hours later but refused to answer questions.

On 31 March 2021, Brandon Jones went to an address in Gravesend occupied by a woman he knew. He had previously sent her threatening phone texts and was refused entry. He threatened her again before leaving in a taxi. He collected his electric scooter, rode to a service station in Perry Street, filled a can with petrol, returned to the woman’s house, poured the fuel through her letter box, ignited it, causing the fire to spread from the door into the hallway. He fled on his e-scooter while neighbours alerted the victim. The woman and her child were rescued from a first floor window by Kent Fire and Rescue Service. Jones indicated his intention to harm the victim in texts to her friend and admitted causing the blaze in a phone call to her associate.

On a night in February 2018, Adam Fisher drove at nearly double the 40mph speed limit down Gore Road in Dartford, having consumed alcohol over the legal limit. He swerved into the wrong lane, narrowly missing one oncoming car, then collided head-on with a vehicle driven by a man in his 40s. The victim's car was forced into a ditch; he suffered life-changing injuries and drifted in and out of consciousness. Both vehicles and the road were in good condition, ruling out any other cause.