Jailed in Essex: 11 people put behind bars through November
From drug related offences and rape, to drink driving and burglaries, these 11 men will serve prison sentences. 
John Tant, 51, of Tulip Walk, Colchester, was seen driving his Honda Civic at the men in Hazelton Road, Colchester, on February 1, 2023. Ipswich Crown Court, sitting at Colchester Magistrates' Court, heard Tant mistakenly thought the men had stabbed a family member. Tant admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Tant was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison and was given a driving disqualification which will last for two years and 10 months including his time in prison. 
Marc Cheeney, 22, scarred his victim by inflicting constant emotional abuse during a four-month period which involved him belittling her and degrading her on a regular basis. His conduct culminated in Cheeney raping the woman at an address in Halstead and leaving her to make her way home in a taxi, Chelmsford Crown Court heard. A judge jailed Cheeney for five years.
Cheeney was also ordered to serve a ten-year restraining order and will be required to provide notifications about his whereabouts indefinitely upon his release. He will serve two thirds of his sentence before being released on licence. 
A drug dealer spotted by eagle-eyed police officers has been put behind bars. [3] Officers from the Braintree neighbourhood policing team saw a vehicle acting suspiciously in Coggeshall Road on August 20. Pursuing the vehicle, the officers caught up with it in Sitsted and arrested the driver, Difrim Metalliri.
The 35-year-old defendant was found with a large quantity of cocaine and some cannabis. He admitted possession of cocaine with intent to supply and was sentenced to one year and 10 months' imprisonment at Chelmsford Crown Court. The court also made orders for Metalliri, of Beckets View, Northampton, including the forfeiture of GBP450 in cash, the destruction of the seized drugs, and for him to be deprived of a car, a phone and a bank card.
A vehicle, usually a van, would be advertised on an online shopping platform with a buyer contacting the seller before a deposit would be transferred. This was before the seller would provide instructions of where to collect the vehicle. The location given to the buyer would be a completely random address occupied by a person who had nothing to do with the advert.
Three men - Patrick Stokes, Michael Stokes and Liam Cumbor - were identified as suspects and in February 2023, officers executed warrants leading to the arrest of the three men. All three men refused to answer any questions in police interview, and they originally pled guilty. Patrick Stokes, 36, of Rookes Crescent, Chelmsford, Liam Cumbor, 32, of Tudor Road, Intake, and Michael Stokes, 31, of Oakmount Road, Eastleigh, Hampshire, were sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on November 21.
All three men were sentenced to two and a half years in jail. 
Robert Binder, 38, burgled two homes earlier this year, stealing jewellery worth thousands of pounds as well as passports. Chelmsford Crown Court heard he entered a home in Witham on April 10 and another on May 8 in Ipswich. During one burglary, the residents were at a funeral, the court was told.
Binder, of Wakering Road, Barking, was sentenced to 38 months in prison for each burglary, which he had admitted. He must also pay a victim surcharge. 
A young motorcyclist has said he is lucky to be alive after being left with serious injuries after a crash in Clacton.[6] Ryan Towler, 22, was heading home from a friend's house on his motorbike when he was hit by a car in Oxford Road on May 7. The driver ran off and Ryan was left on the road with numerous injuries and taken to hospital in a critical condition.
Ryan Channing, 45, was found to be the one driving a grey Audi A3 near his Wellesley Road home when he collided with a Kawasaki 125 motorbike, being ridden by Towler. He was arrested on suspicion of drink driving, causing serious injury by careless driving and failing to stop. He initially denied the offences saying he had left his keys in his flat, but they were not there.
He was charged with causing serious injury by careless and inconsiderate driving, failure to stop after a road accident, failure to provide a specimen for analysis, no insurance and driving other than in accordance with a licence. On November 12, Channing was jailed for eight months at Colchester Magistrates' Court, after previously pleading guilty to five driving offences including causing serious injury by careless driving and failing to stop. At the sentencing hearing he was also banned from driving for 32 months and ordered to pay a victim surcharge.
Doocey, 30, had been driving a Nissan Cabstar when he lost control of the van, which spun off the road. He and the two passengers - a male and a female - suffered life-changing injuries and were rushed to hospital. Police later charged Doocey with two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
He admitted the offences and was jailed for three years. Doocey was ordered to pay a GBP228 victim surcharge, and will also serve a 37-month driving ban starting when he is released. 
A 66-year-old man from Essex has been jailed for seven years after assisting a Russian intelligence service. [8] Howard Phillips was convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act. Phillips, from Harlow, "dreamt about being like James Bond" and intended to help two apparent Russian agents called "Sasha" and "Dima", including by passing on personal information about former defence secretary Sir Grant Shapps.
He also helped with travel logistics and booking hotels. But "Dima" and "Sasha" were in fact undercover British intelligence officers and a jury found Phillips guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act. Phillips will serve a seven-year jail sentence.
The "sustained" attack began after the older man began speaking to Kearns after spotting him sitting on a kerb on Dorset Road, talking to him for less than an hour before Kearns suddenly "became irate" and punched him around midnight. The victim was left with facial fractures and broken ribs requiring extensive medical treatment after Kearns punched and kicked him as he lay defenceless on the ground. The court heard Kearns fled after residents came to the aid of the older man, taking to his heels after realising the police were on their way.
Kearns was handed a jail-term of three years and two months at Chelmsford Crown Court after he was found guilty of GBH with intent following a two-day trial which began November 5. 
Ridhwaan Ahmed, 25, woke his girlfriend late at night by dragging her by the hair before launching a five-hour attack in which he slapped her, punched her, and took away her phone so she could not contact the police. His victim only managed to get in touch with the emergency services when Ahmed fell asleep, allowing her to find her son's iPad which she then used to submit an online report, Chelmsford Crown Court heard. It was said in mitigation Ahmed had no previous convictions for assault, but a judge decided to jail him for 16 months.
Hollie Davies, prosecuting, said the relationship had previously been healthy before the attack at an address in Colchester on Thursday, July 31. The incident lasted until about 4.30am when Ahmed fell asleep, and the victim contacted the police. Ahmed, of Paige Close, Witham, admitted one charge each of actual bodily harm, driving without insurance, and taking a vehicle without consent.
The Recorder, Mr Matthew Chpman KC, said Ahmed had shown limited insight into his offending, and jailed him for 16 months. His driving licence was endorsed with seven points. 
A Braintree drug dealer who threatened an innocent civilian with a combat knife has been jailed for four years.[11] Children were left "screaming and crying" after witnessing Jack Harris chase a member of the public into a woodland, threatening to stab him for no apparent reason. He committed the offence whilst serving a community order for drug-driving and awaiting prosecution for dealing cocaine.
Harris, 21, of Notley Road, brandished the knife on July 6, 2024, prosecutor Rachel Law told Basildon Crown Court on Monday (November 10). The victim was riding a scooter along a path when Harris started shouting at him, "unprovoked and out of nowhere," said Mrs Law. When the victim shouted back, "Mr Harrison lifted his shirt and pulled out a large knife from his waistband - a large, combat-style knife."
A friend told Harris: "Shiv him, bruv." The pair then chased the victim into a woodland, terrifying local children. An off-duty police officer heard the commotion and rushed to intervene.
Harris was already awaiting prosecution after being arrested in September 2023 by officers who observed him interacting with drug-dealers at the back of Braintree train station. He was caught with cocaine, cannabis and cash. He admitted cannabis dealing and cocaine possession.
A jury later convicted him of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and possessing cocaine with intent to supply.
The knife Harris tossed was never found, which the judge said was "an aggravating factor": "It is quite concerning that there is a dangerous weapon out there which could easily be picked up by someone else."
He sentenced Harris to four years in prison and commended the "brave actions" of the off-duty officer.
References
- ^ A Colchester driver who was caught on doorbell footage driving into two men after he "saw red" in a case of mistaken identity. (www.gazette-news.co.uk)
- ^ A rapist who isolated his victim from her friends and family so he could control her movements 24 hours a day has been jailed. (www.halsteadgazette.co.uk)
- ^ A drug dealer spotted by eagle-eyed police officers has been put behind bars. (www.braintreeandwithamtimes.co.uk)
- ^ An Essex man has been jailed for more than two years following a major investigation into a large-scale online shopping fraud conspiracy. (www.braintreeandwithamtimes.co.uk)
- ^ A man who targeted homes in East Anglia and stole safes and valuable jewellery has been put behind bars. (www.braintreeandwithamtimes.co.uk)
- ^ A young motorcyclist has said he is lucky to be alive after being left with serious injuries after a crash in Clacton. (www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk)
- ^ A driver who seriously injured two passengers when his van careered into a tree has been jailed for three years. (www.gazette-news.co.uk)
- ^ A 66-year-old man from Essex has been jailed for seven years after assisting a Russian intelligence service. (www.gazette-news.co.uk)
- ^ A thug who launched an "unprovoked" attack on a man in his 50s he had just met has been jailed for more than three years. (www.gazette-news.co.uk)
- ^ A violent thug filmed himself assaulting his pregnant girlfriend before headbutting her and forcing her to sit in a dog bed. (www.gazette-news.co.uk)
- ^ A Braintree drug dealer who threatened an innocent civilian with a combat knife has been jailed for four years. (www.braintreeandwithamtimes.co.uk)