Kent criminals jailed in September: stabbing, paedophile sting, drug dealer and scissor attack
Several Kent criminals were sentenced to prison in September, including a woman who stabbed her husband and a paedophile caught by a vigilante group.
Kent criminals locked up in September: stabbings, grooming and drug offences
Kentonline.co.uk reports that a string of Kent criminals were sentenced to custody in September, among them a former lap dancer who stabbed her husband, a paedophile caught in a vigilante sting, a drug dealer who threw cocaine from a moving car, and a man who inflicted eight life-threatening wounds with scissors just three days after leaving prison.
Former lap dancer jailed for stabbing husband in Canterbury
Ramune Valciukeine, 44, of Creine Mill Lane North, Canterbury, was jailed for 13 months after stabbing her husband, Battam Alhaj-Qada, at their Canterbury flat — 12 days before Christmas last year. A neighbour found her in a blood-splattered nightie at the scene.
Valciukeine claimed she acted after her husband slapped her. Alhaj-Qada, who sustained a wound to his chest and cuts to his hand, told police she had "came" at him with two knives. He declined to make a formal complaint, said he continued to "wish her well", and did not want a restraining order imposed.
Canterbury Crown Court heard Valciukeine had worked as a lap dancer in a Soho club for approximately ten years after moving to England. She was initially charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm; the prosecution later accepted a guilty plea to the lesser charge of unlawful wounding.
Psychiatric and probation reports concluded she was unsuitable for a community mental health programme or a hospital order under the Mental Health Act. Judge Sarah Counsell noted the offence was aggravated by Valciukeine's use of drugs and alcohol as self-medication during a period of deteriorating mental health. "It is quite clear from the reports I have that you have a severe and enduring mental illness and that is chronic paranoid schizophrenia," the judge said. Because of time already served on remand, her release was immediate upon sentencing.
Paedophile caught in vigilante sting jailed for over four years
Shane Taylor, 37, of Pennington Road, Tunbridge Wells, was sentenced to four years and four months at Maidstone Crown Court after sending sexual messages to individuals he believed were boys aged 13 and 14. The recipients were in fact members of The Underworld online protection team, a vigilante group posing as underage children.
Taylor's messages were described in court as "relentless." He sent images of his genitals, requested sexual activity and told the decoys they could sleep in his bed. The exchanges took place between November last year and February. Officers visited his home, seized electronic devices and subsequently charged him with two counts of attempting sexual communication with a child and one count of attempting to arrange sexual activity with a child. Taylor admitted all three offences.
Recorder Nicola Makanjuola imposed the sentence at Maidstone Crown Court. A 20-minute video of the sting, featuring Taylor and the vigilante group, was shared online earlier this year.
Drug dealer throws cocaine-filled sock from car window in Tonbridge
Aseed Jabarkhil, 36, of Lower Addiscombe Road, Croydon, was jailed for one year and nine months after attempting to discard a cocaine-filled sports sock from his vehicle on The Ridgeway in Tonbridge on the evening of 15 March.
Officers signalled Jabarkhil to stop; within seconds he hurled a tied package onto a nearby grass verge. Police recovered the bright white sock, which contained five deal bags of cocaine. A search of the car also produced £245 in cash and a list of names suspected to be local drug buyers. Examination of his mobile phone uncovered further evidence of active drug supply. The Afghan national was charged with being concerned in the supply of cocaine and admitted the charge at Maidstone Crown Court on 1 September.
Detective Sergeant Rob Hemsley said following sentencing: "Sometimes when drug dealers realise they might be stopped by police, they will try to get rid of any illicit substances they have. But our officers are trained to be able to react quickly, so they were instantly alert to Jabarkhil's failed attempt to dispose of the cocaine that night and knew something was afoot."
Scissor attack survivor left terrified to leave home alone
Ashley Atkins, 38, of no fixed address, was jailed for more than five years after attacking Jamie Keets with scissors in Canterbury in the early hours of 20 February — just three days after his own release from prison.
Canterbury Crown Court heard Atkins had been drinking heavily after learning of his former partner's death when he encountered Keets, a stranger, in a fistfight. Atkins subsequently armed himself with scissors and confronted Keets outside a coffee shop, then chased him through the streets before delivering a sustained assault at a roundabout on Rheims Way.
Keets, who was out celebrating his birthday, suffered eight deep, life-threatening wounds to his head, ear and back. He survived because he was wearing multiple layers of clothing, including two coats, and received immediate first aid from passing students. Atkins admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
In a statement given to police, Keets described lasting trauma from the attack, saying he is now too frightened to leave his house on his own.
Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)