IT has been another busy period for the justice system.
North Essex has been spared violent demonstrations which have taken place across many parts of England, but that is not to say there has been a shortage of defendants sitting in the dock before judges and jurors.
In the past month or so, a 23-year-old drug dealer, a 66-year-old voyeur, and a knife-wielding thug have all been put behind bars.
We have the police and the courts to thank for outcomes like these, and it is important for news organisations like the Gazette to share what happens at court hearings so everyone knows the outcomes of serious incidents we hear about all too often.
Here is the inside story on some of the defendants who, up until the last few weeks, walked among us.
Dennis Carroll – set up hidden camera to spy on girl
After a trial in which Dennis Carroll denied voyeurism and possessing indecent images of children, the 66-year-old was found guilty on six different sex offences.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard how Carroll, of Hay Lane North, Braintree, set up a camera which was hidden by a poster so he could so he could spy on his female victim.
When officers investigated the history on Carroll’s devices, they found bookmarks linking to video footage of the victim filmed on camera.
The same camera filmed Carroll, 66, adjusting the position of the device so he could gain a clearer view of his victim.
His Honour Judge Alexander Mills said: “This was clearly pre-planned on your part – you searched for the relevant devices and purchased them.”
Despite being convicted of one charge of taking indecent photo of a child, three charges of making an indecent photo of a child, possessing a prohibited image of a child, and voyeurism, Carroll continued to deny the offences.
He was jailed for two years and eight months.
Francis Lagonski – drug dealer who kept list titled ‘drugs to sell’
In February, Suffolk Police were investigating a drugs line when their enquiries led them to arrest a suspect who had sent numerous messages to a contact called Francis Lagonski.
After investigating the 23-year-old from Beech Avenue in Braintree, officers arrested Lagonski and found a sophisticated production line for packaging and distributing illegal substances.
More crucially, the evidence on his phones showed he was in full control of the operation, which involved him posting large quantities of Class A and Class B drugs across the UK on a daily basis.
When officers searched his address, they found £24,000 worth of solid gold coins, and £7,000 in cash.
Also seized was a notepad which outlined the drugs he was selling customers.
Lagonski admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply a class A drug, two counts of conspiracy to supply and class B drug, and two counts of money laundering.
After Lagonski was sentenced to six years in prison, Essex Police’s Det Insp Frazer Low said: “His notebooks showed he could have been a millionaire if not caught – he had assets in cash, gold and cryptocurrency and was laundering his criminal gains as he went.”
Michael Cotton – man convicted of sexually assaulting two women
A trial into Michael Cotton, of Romford Close, Colchester resulted in the 55-year-old being convicted on two counts of sexual assault.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard how Cotton had filmed the assaults which took place at his address in 2019.
The prosecuting lawyer Michael Hillman told the jury how Cotton told a woman he had recently taken a course in foot massage.
He said: “He proceeded to massage her foot – she said she found this all a bit odd and felt uncomfortable.
“When she said ‘that’s enough’ the defendant took her feet to his mouth and she pulled her feet away.”
In a separate incident, a victim woke up “completely naked and without any bedclothes over her” before Cotton “sat down on a chair next to the bed, leant over, kissed her on the lips and put her tongue in her mouth."
Cotton will be sentenced in October.
Sonya Deans – kept XL bully, Marley, without paying registration fee
Since the government passed legislation last year restricting the custody of XL bullies, owners have had to register, insure, and tag the breed.
At Colchester Magistrates’ Court earlier this month, it transpired Sonya Deans had done none of those things to ensure she kept Marley legally.
After Deans admitted one charge of having custody of a fighting dog, chair of the bench Beverley Davies ruled Marley had to be muzzled in public as well as being chipped, neutered and insured.
The order was made after Lucy Osborne, mitigating, argued Deans was unable to pay the necessary fees required after the government passed new laws restricting the breed.
She said: “With the benefit of hindsight, were she in that situation again and she had known the legislation was coming, she would not have done that because of the financial implications.
“She was required to chip the dog and register the dog, both of which had financial implications for her because she is a single mother on universal credit and receives no money from the father of her son.
“She simply didn’t have the money.”
Deans, 36, will be able to keep Marley at the family home in Windsor Close.
Joshua Aydon – sentenced on 25th birthday for dangerous driving and lying to police
At Chelmsford Crown Court last month 25-year-old Joshua Aydon was banned from driving for crashing his car and fleeing the scene.
Aydon was under the influence of drugs when he crashed his BMW into a parked car in Maldon Road, Burnham, in January.
He fled the scene and denied any knowledge of the incident by telling police the BMW had been stolen.
Police who were alerted to the crash used the numberplate to trace the car back to Aydon, but when officers attended his address in Albert Road in Burnham, he told them he knew nothing about what happened.
Two months later Aydon requested a second police interview to confess he was driving the BMW.
He admitted one charge each of careless driving, failing to co-operate with a preliminary test, driving under the influence of cannabis, failing to stop after a road accident, failing to report a road accident, leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position, and failing to give information relating to a driver.
He was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, disqualified him from driving for 27 months, and pay £964.
Murat Sanci – stabbed victim with carving knife after parking row
When Gary Walsh told Murat Sanci not to park his car on the pavement in Walton last February, he could not possibly have expected he would be the victim of a brutal stabbing.
Sanci was told by passerby Mr Walsh “pavements are meant for people and roads are meant for cars”.
The defendant responded by running into the barber shop he worked at, before re-emerging and getting into his Peugeot.
He drove towards Mr Walsh, who was with his son.
After missing the pair Sanci, of Oldbury Road in Enfield, got out of the car and brandished a six-inch carving knife he used to stab his victim twice.
It left Mr Walsh needing hospital treatment and he is now unable to work in his previous occupation as a lorry driver
In a victim impact statement, Mr Walsh said: “I find myself back at the incident laying on the floor with my injuries – I constantly replay the incident over and over in my head.”
His Honour Recorder Richard Christie jailed Sanci, 22, for five years and nine months.
He said: “You pose a high risk of serious harm to members of the public with whom you get into conflict.
“It is mere good fortune you did not cause more serious injury.”
Sabrino Hajderaj – drug dealer who glamourised Escobar and ‘El Chapo’
Colchester was shaken by four drug deaths in the space of a week earlier this year, and Essex Police responded by going in hard on suspected dealers.
One of the dealers was Sabrino Hajderaj who was spotted by police in Cowdray Avenue, Colchester, in April.
When he saw the police car, he disappeared into some shrubs, with police then chasing and arresting him.
A strip search found a knife, £400 in cash, a burner phone, as well as crack cocaine and heroin potentially worth more than £2,000.
A probation officer told Ipswich Crown Court earlier this week how Hajderaj “has a criminal attitude” and “talks passionately about drug cartels including ‘El Chapo’ and Escobar”.
Hajderaj, of Sunny Bank in Croydon, later admitted two charges of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply and one charge of possessing a knife.
His Honour Recorder Thomas Moran jailed Hajderaj, 20, for two years in a young offenders’ institution.
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