Some of the criminals with Suffolk links who were jailed in December, with cases from Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Lowestoft, Stowmarket, Halesworth and more
It 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 December.
Clacton man abused boys in Suffolk
Our first case sees a man from Essex jailed for sexual abuse.
Darren Hornsby, 36, of Spring Road, Clacton-on-Sea, was jailed for 15 years at Chelmsford Crown Court on December 5.
Hornsby’s offences included sexual assaults involving two boys in their early teens in East Suffolk.
After an investigation, officers also discovered hundreds of indecent images and videos of children.
In addition to his sentence, he was handed a sexual harm prevention order for life as well as ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
You can read the full story here.
80-year-old raped and sexually assaulted children
An 80-year-old man was found guilty of a series of rapes and sexual assaults against children.
Charles Eaton, of Gannet Road, Ipswich, was jailed for 15 years at Ipswich Crown Court on December 6 after an eight-day trial.
Eaton raped a girl under the age of 16 between 1977 and 1982.
Two indecent assaults happened between 1974 and 1980 and four further offences of gross indecency were between 1974 and 1988.
In addition to his sentence, Eaton must spend six years on licence and sign the sex offenders’ register for life.
The full story can be found here.
Men hit victim with wrench during burglary
Our next case involves a pair who were jailed for an aggravated burglary in Lowestoft.
Richard Aldous and Benjamin Newcombe, 44 and 40, (pictured left to right) were jailed for eight years and 40 months, respectively, at Ipswich Crown Court on December 6.
Aldous, of Lea Lane, Witham, in Essex, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place plus two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm relating to a separate incident.
Newcombe, of Alexandra Street, Thurmaston, in Leicestershire, pleaded guilty to burglary and was sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment.
He also admitted permitting his premises to be used for the production of cannabis for which he received a six-month concurrent prison sentence.
The burglary was on December 2, 2023.
You can read the full story here.
Man struck another with a baseball bat
December saw a 50-year-old man jailed after hitting another man with a baseball bat more than four years ago.
Karl Phillips, of Wenhaston Lane, Blythburgh, was jailed for three years and six months at Ipswich Crown Court on December 11.
Police had been called at about 10.20pm on November 16, 2020, to reports of an altercation involving several people in Holton, near Halesworth.
Phillips suffered stab wounds during the incident and the victim of Phillips’ attack – who was aged 29 at the time – also stood trial accused of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He was found not guilty by the jury.
You can read the full story here.
‘Dangerous’ sex offender jailed after two trials
The next case involves a ‘dangerous sex offender’ who sexually abused two girls.
Scott Lawrence-Bayly, 28, of Bridge Street, Stowmarket, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on December 13, which also included an extended licence period of five years.
This followed two separate trials – in May 2023 and October of this year – relating to offences which took place over the space of 10 years.
Last year, Lawrence-Bayly was found guilty following an eight-day trial of assaulting a child under 13 by penetration, sexual assault of a child under 13, and causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
The victim in this instance was six-years-old. Lawrence-Bayly was an adult when the abuse took place.
In October, he was found guilty of one count of oral rape of a child, assault of a child under 13 by penetration and two counts of sexual assault of a child by touching following a four-day trial.
The full story can be read here.
Man murdered partner’s two-year-old daughter and wheeled around her body in a buggy
A man was jailed for murdering his girlfriend’s two-year-old daughter and wheeling her body around in a buggy.
Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, 24, who was in a relationship with Scott Jeff at the time, was jailed for 10 years at Ipswich Crown Court on December 13 for causing or allowing the death of Isabella Wheildon.
Jeff was handed a life sentence – but must serve at least 26 years in prison.
Isabella’s body was found at a homeless unit in Sidegate Lane, Ipswich, on June 30, 2023.
It is believed she died four days earlier, with Jeff and Gleason-Mitchell continuing to wheel her body around in a pushchair.
You can read more here.
Distraction thief couple robbed stores across the country
A couple from London were jailed for stealing more than £48,000 worth of jewellery across multiple counties.
Vadar-ghimes Agafitei and Zinca Agafitei, both 46, of Penge Road, London, were sentenced to two years and three months’ imprisonment at Norwich Crown Court on December 16.
Both pleaded guilty to three counts of theft plus two counts of burglary at an earlier hearing, with Vadar-ghimes also admitting fraud by false representation.
It followed a string of jewellery thefts between May 14 and July 29 in Warwickshire, Sussex, Wiltshire, Suffolk and Norfolk, with an estimated total haul of over £48,000.
The couple would use distraction techniques to steal goods from stores.
You can read the full story here.
Man filmed fatal A14 crash
A man was fined for filming a fatal crash on the A14 outside Ipswich.
Arturas Motuzis, of Belstead Avenue, Ipswich, appeared before Suffolk Magistrates’ Court on December 19.
He pleaded guilty to sending an offensive, indecent or obscene message or matter by public communication network and using a mobile phone while driving.
The crash in question took place at Sproughton at about 5.40pm on June 4, the court was told, and a motorcyclist died at the scene.
Motuzis was fined £1,345 and handed six points on his licence.
You can read the full story here.
Pair jailed for separate shop thefts
For our final case from December, we shift our focus to two men who were jailed for a separate string of shop thefts in Bury St Edmunds.
Jake Cambridge, 30, of no fixed address but from the Bury area, was jailed for 16 weeks at Suffolk Magistrates’ Court in Ipswich on December 20.
He was twice arrested and charged in connection with two incidents in the town – one in Robert Boby Way on Tuesday, December 17 and another in Out Risbygate, on December 18.
He pleaded guilty to both offences.
Meanwhile, Philip Spicer, 54, of no fixed address, was jailed for 16 weeks at Suffolk Magistrates’ Court, on December 19.
He was convicted on one count of being drunk and disorderly, two counts of failure to comply with a community protection notice plus four counts of theft from a shop.
You can read the full story here.
As a reader, we know the value you place on trusted local journalism. At SuffolkNews we are committed to delivering the very best coverage from communities right across the county, and we can only do this with the support of our readers.
By becoming a subscriber you not only support us in this mission, you also unlock a whole host of benefits, including unlimited access to our ad-lite SuffolkNews website and digital editions of all our weekly newspapers. You can find out more about subscriptions here.
Use the promo code AshJones to get an annual subscription for less than £25 - we really appreciate your support. Thank you.
