Some of the criminals with Suffolk links who faced justice in August, with cases from Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket, Felixstowe, Lowestoft and more
August was a busy month for the courts, with sentences handed out to dozens of people across the county.
While some were punished for more minor offences, others received long jail terms for the more serious of crimes.
These are the people with Suffolk links who faced justice in August.
Man admits strangling and assaulting woman
Our first case sees a man jailed for strangling and assaulting a woman.
Darryl Breslin, 33, formerly of Engelhard Road, Newmarket, was given a 12-month concurrent sentence, suspended for two years, at Ipswich Crown Court on August 1.
Breslin pleaded guilty to the charges of intentionally strangling and assaulting a woman at an earlier hearing.
Burglars subjected pensioner to ‘terrifying ordeal’
Our next case sees a trio of burglars jailed for an incident in 2020.
Anthony Cosgrove, 47, Sammy Okat-Uma, 46, and Ashton Seymour, 50, were jailed for 62 months, 59 months and 52 months respectively at Ipswich Crown Court on August 2.
A fourth man was charged in connection with the incident and had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle in February 2022, but died later that year in a crash in London before being sentenced.
The burglary took place in Cavendish on April 16, 2020.
The victim awoke to find three men in her bedroom. One of them held his hands over her mouth and demanded money.
The victim was able to scream which alerted a neighbour, who came to help and was confronted by the thieves, two of whom ran directly past them out the door.
The third man lingered for a short time before he pushed past the neighbour and ran off.
The victim was left extremely shaken in the wake of the incident but was not physically injured.
Drug dealer caught with 120 bags of cannabis
A drug dealer faced justice in August.
Klajdi Sula, of Ipswich, admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis and possession of the proceeds of crime at Suffolk Magistrates’ Court on August 6.
Officers apprehended him on April 6 after he failed to stop when he was cycling in the Gatacre Road area.
Police searched the property he was living in at the time and discovered 120 pouches of cannabis and £4,540 in cash, after which Sula was charged and remanded in custody.
Sula was jailed for 10 months.
Man jailed after fatal stabbing in village
Next, a man who stabbed another to death in a Suffolk village was jailed for manslaughter.
Jay Cotterill, 43, of Ipswich Avenue, Sutton Heath, near Woodbridge, was sentenced to 11 years in prison at Ipswich Crown Court on August 9.
Cotterill stabbed Richard Hunt, 37, of Ipswich, to death in Ipswich Avenue on October 8 after an altercation between the two, which included Mr Hunt assaulting Cotterill with a baseball bat.
The court was told Cotterill then went back inside to arm himself with a large kitchen knife and at this point his partner dialled 999.
The pair were known to each other and had both previously been in a relationship with the same woman.
Woman encouraged dog to bite officer
August also saw a woman jailed for encouraging her dog to bite a police officer.
Peyton Mcarry, of Chalk Road South, Bury St Edmunds, appeared before Suffolk Magistrates’ Court on August 9, where she admitted to being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control.
She was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 costs and a victim surcharge of £48.
Drug-dealer tried to dupe officers with fake licence
Our next case involves a drug-dealer caught in Suffolk.
Alberto Deda, 23, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment at Ipswich Crown Court on August 9.
Deda, of no fixed address, was caught by officers driving a London-based hire car in Capel St Mary on July 12.
He was the only person in the car at the time and was arrested after an amount of cocaine equivalent to 17 deals, as well as £270 in cash, were seized from the vehicle.
Deda used a false address in Ipswich to hire the car, the court was told.
When confronted by officers, he displayed a fake licence from his phone.
Conman builder swindled victims out of thousands
Also in August, a conman builder from Essex but operating in Felixstowe faced court.
Jack Doran, of Harlow, Essex, was handed a six month sentence, suspended for nine months, at Ipswich Crown Court on August 12.
Doran traded under the name JD Roofing and General Building Ltd and swindled victims out of £17,000.
He admitted taking 50 per cent deposits and additional payments for roofing services and materials not provided as well as dishonestly incurring debts in the course of trade at an earlier hearing.
When confronted by clients on why work was not being completed, he continually made excuses, the court was told.
After his sentencing a victim, who did not wish to be named, said Doran lied to them, leaving them feeling ‘let down, disappointed and stupid for being so easily manipulated’.
Man admitted 11 burglary offences
Also in August, a man who admitted 11 burglary offences was jailed for three years.
Matthew Eke, 47, formerly of Thetford, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on August 16.
He pleaded guilty to the offences, which took place in Bury St Edmunds and Thetford between June and July.
He was arrested in Bury on July 1 after being identified by CCTV and forensic evidence.
Eke was charged with four counts of dwelling burglary, an attempted dwelling burglary, a dwelling burglary with intent to steal, fraud by false representation, two counts of bicycle theft and two counts of theft from a shop.
Drunk-driver jailed after crash that killed friend
A case which reached its end in August was that of a 20-year-old who crashed her car into a tree, killing her friend.
Ellie Lambert, of Kirby Rise, Barham, was sentenced to more than three years in prison at Ipswich Crown Court on August 20, having previously admitted causing death by driving without due care and attention.
Lambert was more than twice the legal drink-driving limit when the crash took place during the early hours of April 29, 2023. Officers were called to the scene in Thornhill Road, Barham, at 12.35am.
Bethany McCauley, 18, from Pinewood, Ipswich, who was in the front passenger seat at the time, died at the scene while Lambert was seriously injured.
Man jailed for series of ‘traumatic and distressing’ sexual offences involving a child
A Lowestoft sex offender is our final case for this month.
Timothy Neale, 55, of Montgomery Avenue, was sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment at Norwich Crown Court on August 28.
In the lead up to his two-week trial in April, Neale pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape, two counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act, plus one count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and one count of sexual assault on a child.
Neale was charged with the above offences in May 2020.
