Editor’s note: The conviction of Montell Asare-Bediako was set aside and he pleaded not guilty to the offence. The charge was then discontinued in December 2021 and no further action taken.

ILLEGALLY getting together during Covid lockdown earlier this year has left plenty of people in Essex out of pocket — many by more than £600.

There were also fines for people who failed to wear masks and went on non-essential journey's in lockdown.

The following list is residents whose cases were heard at Colchester and Chelmsford Magistrates' Courts within the last three months for breaching lockdown regulations.

Mario Sardalus, 20, of Cardiff Road, Reading, was fined £66 after being caught socialising in a group of ten at the Colchester university campus in October 2020. At the time Essex was in tier two and people could only meet outside in groups of six. Sardalus was also ordered to pay a £34 victim services charge. His case was heard on June 17.

Shawn Bullock, 41, of St Leonards Road, Colchester, was fined £180 after obstructing officers enforcing Covid regulations in December last year. He had been at a pub in Colchester with three people from three different households, which was prohibited under tier 2 rules. Bullock refused to tell officers his address when asked twice with a confrontation starting. At a court hearing on July 16 he was fined £180 and ordered to pay a £34 victim services charge and £85 costs. 

Angela Hasler, 53, was fined £440 after being found in a property with two other people not in her support bubble despite tier two restrictions on October 25. At a court hearing on September 9 the case was proved in the absence of Hasler, of Harwich Road, Colchester. She was fined £440 and ordered to pay a £44 victim services charge and £620 prosecution costs.

A man who was caught breaching Covid restrictions on New Year’s Eve was fined £660. Simon Stevens, 18, of Darwin Close, Colchester, was found in a property with 12 other people despite tier 4 restrictions being in place. None of the people lived together. The case was heard on July 16 and Stevens was fined and ordered to pay a £66 victim services charge and £85 prosecution costs.

Luke Smith, 21, of Imphal Close, Colchester, was fined £660 after being found in a car with three others who were not in his household on December 20 last year when tier two rules were in place. The case heard on July 16 and Smith was also ordered to pay a £66 victim services charge and £85 prosecution costs.

A woman was caught inside a property in Colchester with eight other people despite tier two Covid rules on December 21. They were found drinking and socialising. At a hearing on July 16, Bethany Taley, 28, of Crouch Street West, was fined £660 and ordered to pay a £66 victim services charge and £85 prosecution costs.

Perry Dowhan, 23, of The Cut, Tiptree, was also fined £660 and ordered to pay a £66 victim services charge and £85 prosecution costs for being at a gathering of eight people in Colchester on December 21.

A Harwich man who travelled 32 miles to get food with two other people on January 13 was fined £660 and ordered to pay a £66 victim services charge and £85 prosecution costs. Savalas Rouse, 23, of Talbot Street, was stopped in a car in Elizabeth Way, Colchester, in a different part of town to where they had collected their food. The case was heard on July 16.

Bradley Mugova, 25, of Talbot Street, Harwich, was fined for taking a non-essential journey to get a takeaway in Colchester on January 13. He was also fined £660 and ordered to pay a £66 victim services charge and £85 prosecution costs.

Montel Asare’Bediako, 21, was fined after gathering with five people a day after being given Covid breach advice. Asare’Bediako, of Meachen Road, Colchester, was caught outdoors with the group despite tier four rules on January 28. At court on July 16 he was fined £660 and ordered to pay a £66 victim services charge and £85 prosecution costs.

Editor’s note: The conviction of Montell Asare-Bediako was set aside and he pleaded not guilty to the offence. The charge was then discontinued in December 2021 and no further action taken.

There was also a £660 fine for Ramone Thompson, 21, of Peckham Rye, in London. Thompson was stopped in a car on Westway in Colchester along with two other men who had travelled to visit a friend in Colchester despite lockdown. At court on July 16 he was also ordered to pay a £66 victim services charge and £85 prosecution costs.

Amie Mower, 31, was fined after being caught at a party on January 15. Mower, of Francis Gunn Close, was fined £660 and ordered to pay a £66 victim services charge and £85 prosecution costs at court on July 16.

A woman who could not explain why she was 36 miles from her home during tier 4 restrictions was fined. Laura Gladston, 35, of Henman Way, Brentwood, was found at an address in Venture Close, Colchester, on January 16. She was fined £660 and ordered to pay a £66 victim services charge and £85 prosecution costs at court on July 16.

A man who failed to wear a face covering before Government rules changed has been ordered to pay £951. Oliver O'Brien, 21, of Wivenhoe Road, Alresford, was charged with entering a relevant place in England without wearing a face covering in London on April 27 this year. It was proved in his absence at Lavender Hill Magistrates' Court in September. Magistrates ordered O'Brien to pay a fine of £660, a victim services charge of £66 and costs of £225.

A woman who attended an illegal rave at a church on New Year’s Eve has been fined £120. Jodie Skinner, 23, of Captains Road, West Mersea, had attended the rave at All Saints Church in East Horndon and was seen in a group of six people as they left. In a hearing on July 16 she was fined and ordered to pay a £34 victim services charge and £85 costs.