In full: Colchester's weird, whacky, and dangerous defendants in court

Defendants first appear before a magistrate judge, but if the offence is serious enough, they are tried or sentenced before a judge sitting in a crown court.

Criminals who have committed serious crimes in Colchester appear before judges in Ipswich and Chelmsford.

Many of the defendants are jailed, but given the extreme pressure on the prison system, many instead receive suspended sentences or community orders rather than serving time.

But which of Colchester’s offenders were jailed? And which defendants were granted their liberty?

Here is a round-up of some of the defendants who have appeared before the courts in Colchester, Chelmsford, and Ipswich, in the past month.

James Baines – suspended sentence for indecent images

At the beginning of April, supermarket worker James Baines appeared at Ipswich Crown Court for sentencing after he was found in possession of 255 category A images, 138 category B images, and 63 category C images.

Baines had said the images were initially sent to him by other internet users in an online chat group, but the prosecution told the court on Thursday, April 4, that Baines “willingly accepted the images and continued to access the chatroom”.

Sentenced - James Baines leaves Ipswich Crown Court after receiving a suspended jail sentence (Image: Newsquest)

The 24-year-old, of King Stephen Road, was “not trying to blame anyone else” for his actions, his defence lawyer said.

Baines was ordered to serve an eight-month prison term suspended for two years, complete 30 days of rehab activity requirements, and pay £340 payment in costs.

Liam Tillmanns – driving ban for clipping a wing mirror

At Colchester Magistrates’ Court last month, Liam Tillmanns appeared the day before he was due to fly out to Greece to work in a hotel.

Before packing his suitcases, he had one matter outstanding – failing to stop after clipping a mirror of a car in Upper Holt Street, Earls Colne.

Minor - Liam Tillmanns clipped a wing mirror in Earls Colne, but already had nine points on his licence (Image: Google Street View)

The incident did not in itself seem particularly serious, only, Tillmanns already had nine points on his driving licence.

A further five points for failing to stop for the clipped wing mirror meant Tillmanns, 23, of Tey Road, was given a driving ban.

He was also fined £491, and left the court with a parting remark of “Lesson learnt – hopefully I’ll never see you again.”

Darren Newbury – suspended sentence for fraud by false representation

Fraudster Darren Newbury falsely claimed £52,000 in benefits which he used to renovate an abandoned property in Spain.

The deceit occurred over seven years and was uncovered in 2017 whilst he was living in Sladbury’s Lane, Holland-on-Sea.

Newbury later admitted four counts of fraud by false representation, with charges against his wife later dropped.

Caught - Darren Newbury defrauded the benefits office of £52,000 (Image: Newsquest)

The defence lawyer told Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday, April 12, that Newbury had not intended to squander the money.

He said: “This was pre-Brexit.

“In 2010, this was a man seeking to establish himself and his family in Spain.

“This is not a man seeking to take advantage of the benefits by squandering them.”

Newbury, now of Manor Cottages in Molland, Devon, was sentenced to 36 weeks in jail suspended for 18 months, and must carry out 240 hours of unpaid work.

A confiscation process for the £52,000 is ongoing.

James Martin – 16 years for robbery and possession of a bladed article

Following a spree of terrifying knifepoint robberies, James Martin appeared at Ipswich Crown Court last month where he was jailed for sixteen years.

Martin will be eligible for release after 11 years, but even then Martin will still be subject to immediate recall for another ten years after that.

Violent - James Martin held shop staff at knifepoint as part of a campaign of terrifying robberies (Image: Essex Police)

The sentence was passed after Martin targeted corner shops in Barrack Street, Canterbury Road, and Military Road over an 11-month period from 2022 to 2023.

In one raid of the Jan and Phil’s store in Barrack Street, Martin launched himself at a Perspex window and held lone shopworker Steepan Mahalingasivam at knifepoint with a six-inch kitchen knife, whilst his accomplice Jordan Hibbs stood watch outside.

Martin, of Tony Webb close, Highwoods, will not be eligible for release from prison until at least 2035.

Elijah Clark – awaiting sentence for manslaughter

A jury acquitted Elijah Clark of murder following a three-week trial earlier last month, but found him guilty of manslaughter.

The trial was brought after former Coggeshall schoolboy Andy Wood was stabbed in Chelmsford during a drug deal.

Trial - Elijah Clark was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court last month (Image: Essex Police)

The prosecution claimed Clark, of Gloucester Avenue, had gone to an area of Chelmsford known as mud hills with the intent of killing 16-year-old Andy Wood.

But the defence successfully argued that Clark, 19, did not kill Mr Wood deliberately and that he did not go to the scene armed with a knife in February last year.

The teenager will be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court later this month.

Peter Beaven – £3,000 compensation for stalking a woman and placing tracker on her car

Appearing at Colchester Magistrates’ Court last month, Peter Beaven faced a sentence for stalking a woman he had met at the dentist.

The court heard how Beaven, of St Peter’s Street, Colchester, would hide among rows of parked cars and then insist on escorting his victim to work.

It later transpired that 70-year-old Beaven had sent a Valentine’s Day card with a QR code inside saying he would meet his victim at a certain time and place.

Compensation - Peter Beaven was ordered to pay his victim £3,000 after he stalked her and placed a tracker on her car (Image: Newsquest)

In an escalation of his stalking campaign, Beaven then attached a tracking device to his victim’s car so he could engineer seemingly coincidental meetings the woman.

Beaven later admitted in a statement read to the court that his behaviour was “inexcusable”.

He was ordered to pay his victim £3,000 in compensation, carry out 140 hours of unpaid work, and complete 40 rehabilitation requirement days.

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