Machete Man 'Flipped' And Slashed Houseguest

A machete-wielding New Addington man, high on a cocktail of booze and cocaine, who slashed a houseguest's hand and head during a violent row at his home, was spared prison yesterday.

Tarmacer Joseph March, 28, of Queen Elizabeth Drive “flipped” when a group of friends returned to his house after a drinking-session and started playing loud music.

“This was a completely horrifying incident and it must have been terrifying seeing someone brandishing this weapon with lots of people around,” Recorder Charles George QC told the first-time offender.

“Someone got slashed to the back of the head, which they needed stitiches for, and slashed to the hand, for which they also needed stitches.”

Father-of-two March pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to maliciously wounding Jack Thomas, causing him grievous bodily harm, at the address on September 15.

Prosecutor Miss Sue Obeney told the court: “The victim had gone to the pub and was in the company of the defendant and others and went back to the defendant's house.

“Things seemed to be okay until the victim heard a commotion upstairs, where the defendant was arguing with the victim's cousin.”

March admitted drinking approximately twelve to fourteen pints of lager, three whiskeys and taking half a gramme of cocaine.

The woman March was arguing with, Shelley Travers, was his girlfriend's sister and she slapped him across the face before he reached under his bed and produced the two-foot long machete.

“The defedant was swinging it and Mr. Thomas got in the way to prevent injury to his cousin and the blade struck his hand.

“The defendant started to push him and Shelley out of the house and the blade then also slashed the victim's head.”

Witnesses told police bare-chested March also armed himself with a heavy-duty spanner and held a glass of beer in the other hand, which he smashed in the front garden.

Shelley dialled 999, but also found herself being taken away by police for slapping March across the face again after he had been arrested and was in their custody.

March told the officers: “I admit I cut him up with the machete. I chopped him, I feel no remourse, it was self-defence. I tried to kill the c***.”

After the attack Mr. Thomas suffered sleepless nights and told police: “I feared further reprisals.”

He needed five stitches to his hand and complains of occassional numbness to his thumb and received eight stitches to the back of his head.

“This is a row that has escalated between him and his girlfriend's sister,” said Mr. David Bacup, defending. “There was an issue with money and he was upset about music blaring out of his house.”

Recorder George QC told March: “You flipped and took from under your bed a formidable knife. Your aim was to get everyone out of your house.

“This was a dreadful incident and the court has been remarkably generous to you.”

March received twelve months imprisonment, suspended for two years, was ordered to complete 250 hours community service work, an anger management course, pay £500 compensation to Mr. Thomas and £100 costs.

Insurance Fraudster's £7K I Phone Scam

An insurance fraudster, who created ten bogus identities in a £7,000 I Phone scam was spared jail today.

Shufahit Hussain, 23, of Back Chapel Street, Tottington, Bury, Lancashire was arrested despite smashing his laptop's hard drive with a hammer during a police raid.

He pleaded guilty at City of London Magistrates' Court (pictured) to ten charges of fraud by false representation between October 13 and 31, last year in relation to home insurance policies he created.

“This an allegation of fraud against Aviva and the creation of fraudulent policies, all in the name of Smith,” said prosecutor Mr. Manjit Mahal.

“The policies were taken out by phone on the first of October last year in the same surname.

“All the policies were opened using the same bank details and they relate back to Mr. Hussain.

Mr. Hussain, posing as a Mr. Smith on each occasion attempted to make claims for the loss of mobile phones, alledging he had lost them on the way to work.

The police were made aware and they discovered the person making all the calls was the same person, Mr. Hussain.

“On each occasion the person claiming to be Mr. Smith claims the phone was lost on the route to work and the loss had been reported to the police.”

West Yorkshire Police had eight crime numbers for the claims, however four of the references were for different items.

“As far as West Yorkshire Police were concerned the numbers came back not as I Phones, but other makes of phones.”

On April 25 Hussain was not at home when police raided his house, but found him at his brother's address in Burnley.

“Officers knocked on the door and there was a ten minute delay,” explained Mr. Mahal. “The officers were aware that a person was peering out of the window at them.

Police eventually gained access and searched a room the defendant used and slept in during visits.

“In his room was a Samsung laptop with the hard drive removed and destroyed.
“Hussain had used a metal hammer to destoy the hard drive.”

If the scam was successful Aviva would have lost £7,200.

“He has done something very similar in the past,” added Mr. Mahal, explaining Hussein was conditionally discharged by Blackburn Magistrates Court for deception in 2010.

He was sentenced to six weeks imprisonment, suspended for twelve months, ordered to perform 100 hours community service and pay £85 costs.

The New Battle Of Britain: Poland V Ireland

A Polish pastry chef, caught on CCTV reigning a dozen violent blows down on a vulnerable woman at the Battle of Britain memorial, has dodged prison.

Jakub Marchewka, 32, of Louis Road, Stratford inflicted an egg-sized swelling above the victim's left eye during the 2am attack.

He pleaded guilty to assaulting Irishwoman Catherine Sultan in Victoria Embankment, Westminster on May 28.

Prosecutor Mr. Manjit Mahal told City of London Magistrates' Court today the alarm was raised by nearby Ministry of Defence police, who reported a group assaulting a woman.

CCTV captured the moment a group surrounded Miss Sultan, who had her back against the memorial (pictured), and Marchewka, who was wearing a distinctive blue t-shirt, repeatedly punched her.

“A security guard told police he saw a group of males punching someone on the ground and he ran across the road with a colleague.

“They pulled two of the males off and saw that the person on the ground was a white female.”

The court viewed the CCTV footage, which showed the victim knocking a lit cigarette out of Marchewka's hand seconds before the assault.

The defendant claims he was striking the victim in an attempt to force her to release her grip on his girlfriend's hair.

“The victim is a lady that suffers mental health issues,” added Mr. Mahal. “She was not able to give evidence due to her mental state.”

Marchewka says he was socialising with friends when Miss Sultan approached them to ask where her brother was and a row erupted.

In a statement he admitted: “I accept that I punched her several times while she was on the ground.

“I accept that my knuckles were reddened and I had a small cut to my knuckle.”

His lawyer told the court: “He realises he acted excessively and went to far in protecting his girlfriend.”

Marchewka, employed by a Mayfair restaurant, was sentenced to eighteen weeks imprisonment, suspended for twelve months, ordered to complete 250 hours community service work, pay £200 compensation to Miss Sultan and £85 costs. 

Rogue Builder's Illegal Profits 'Washed' By Pal

A money launderer, who washed £31,000 through his bank account, which had been scammed from a pensioner by cowboy builders working on his suburban driveway, dodged prison with a suspended sentence yesterday.

Alan Hayton, 63, (pictured) of Portland Avenue, Sittingbourne paid a £17,000 cheque made out 'to cash' into his account and a second £14,000 cheque was blocked by suspicious bank staff.

The victim, John Devereux, of Belmont Road, Chislehurst, also paid another £8,000 cash to the builders, who have never been caught after his partner, who is recovering from a brain tumour, was preyed upon.

"You must have been aware there were vulnerable victims having money extracted from them by your friend," Croydon Crown Court Recorder Niall Quinn QC told Hayton. 

"They have been deprived of their entire life savings and the work was done in a contemptuous manner." 

Hayton was sentenced to eleven months imprisonment, suspended for two years, ordered to pay £500 compensation to Mr. Devereux and obey a night time curfew for three months.

The grandfather, who claims disability living allowance, will not have to contribute to the £7,750 costs requested by the opposition.

Hayton was convicted of acquiring criminal property, namely the two cheques between June 28 and July 14, last year, converting criminal property, namely the £17,000 cheque and attempting to convert criminal property, namely the £14,000 cheque.

Prosecutor Miss Rebecca Foulkes told the jury Mr. Devereux returned home to find his driveway being dug up after the builders had a conversation with his partner.

"She told him they had come around and knocked on the door and she had given permission to work on the drive and an Irishman, known as 'John' arrived later.

"The work continued and Mr. Devereux was asked for a cheque for seventeen thousand pounds and even though he was shocked by the amount, after a conversation he wrote a cheque, leaving the payee blank.

"That cheque went into the bank account of Mr. Hayton and Mr. Devereux then paid eight thousand pounds cash for a pipe to be laid under the driveway.

"A few days later Mr. Devereux was asked for more money for a trench and wrote out a cheque for fourteen thousand after first being asked for twenty thousand."

Again the cheque was paid into Hayton's account, but was blocked by the bank and trading standards alerted.

The determined cowboy builders even tried to persuade Mr. Devereux to make an electronic transfer payment, but fortunately this was unsuccessful.

"These sums were criminal property because they were obtained by fraud perpetuated on Mr. Devereux and his partner," added Miss Foulkes.

"They could see she was a vulnerable person and they took advantage and lied to Mr. Devereux about he cost of work to the driveway and the house.

"The work on the driveway was worth a small fraction of what was paid out and Mr. Hayton must have known or suspected these cheques were the proceeds of criminal property and allowed his account to be used."

Hayton claims he cashed the cheques for a man called Joe Joyce in return for a £24 crate of beer.

His lawyer Miss Francesca Levett told the court: "It is not a sophisticated attempt to defraud someone. It was very easily traced back to him.

"He was expecting a good drink in it for him, which he expected to be a few hundred pounds, but all he did get was a drink, that crate of beer.

"He is not a well man and Mr. Joyce preyed on the naivety of Mr. Hayton, who after the trial was admitted to Mayday Hospital after collapsing, which was brought about by stress."

Groper Told Victim He Needed A Girlfriend

A local sex pest groped a woman as she queued at a hot-dog stand, telling her: “You need a boyfriend and I need a girlfriend.”

First-time offender Michael Ardy, 47, (pictured) of Benhill Wood Road, Sutton put his hand between the victim's legs and on her bottom, but denies inviting her back to the flat he shares with his mother.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to sexually assaulting the woman in Sutton High Street on July 22 and yesterday was placed under probation supervision for twelve months.

The court was told the woman was with a small boy when Ardy approached and the defendant insists his hands never went under the victim's clothing.

Paedo Caught After Getting Laptop Fixed

A paedophile's sick images of children and adults having sex with animals were found when he took his laptop into work for repair.

Delivery driver Andrew James Flack, 54, of Longheath Gardens, Croydon has dodged prison with a suspended sentence.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court (pictured) to six sample charges of possessing an indecent photograph of a child on or before February 16.

The first-time offender also pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing extreme pornography, namely people engaged in sexual activity with animals.

Flack was originally charged with possessing 1872 indecent images of children at level one; 103 at level two; 329 at level three and 347 at level four.

He was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for two years and placed on twelve months supervision with a specific activity requirement.

Angry Brother Slashes Sister's Boyfriend With Barber's Blade

A convicted knifeman, who left his sister's boyfriend with "appalling disfiguring scars" after attacking him with a sharp barber's blade, has been jailed for six years.

Julian Branyik, 28, launched his ferocious onslaught when left alone in the kitchen of his Croydon home with the victim, who had been invited over for a friendly drink.

Croydon Crown Court (pictured) heard Branyik, previously jailed for eighteen months for brandishing a kitchen knife at a queue of late-night shoppers, was never happy about his sister's relationship and there had been threats.

He pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm, with intent, at the flat on July 2.

Branyik invited his sister and her boyfriend over for a drink, but during the evening asked his sibling to go out for some beer.

He head-butted the victim, connecting with the bridge of the victim's nose, tried to punch him in the face and then connected with a blow to the mouth, breaking a tooth.

Branyik grabbed a sharp knife, which his hairdresser sister used for work, and slashed the victim's face, inflicting a five to six inch wound.

The victim later told police the defendant was "jabbing" him all over the face with the blade, inflicting several more cuts.

When the boyfriend kicked-out in self-defence he was stabbed to the rear of his right thigh.

Branyik told him: "You got off lightly. I was going to cut your hands off."

The court heard the victim has a long criminal record, including assaults on police, and had been violent towards Branyik's sister for a year and assaulted her a few weeks before.

"These are quite appalling disfiguring scars," said the Recorder of Croydon Warwick McKinnon, looking at photos of the victim's injuries.

In relation to Branyik he added: "He is an educated man. It is a tragedy what has happened."

Gunman Gets 30 Years For Shooting Rival

A gunman, who tried to kill a bitter drugs rival by chasing and blasting him in the chest on a St. Alban's housing estate, was caged for thirty years yesterday.

Andre Ryan, 22, (pic.top) of Belmont Court, Belmont Hill missed 24 year-old Jahan Malik with his first shot, but was captured on CCTV firing his shotgun a second time in front of witnesses.

His accomplice, Anthony Ajayi, 22, (pic.mid.) of Coningsby Bank received six years for his role in the shooting.

A series of disputes over cannabis, money, damage to a vehicle and a nightclub confrontation resulted in the June 5 confrontation in Praetorian Court.

Ryan was found guilty by a Croydon Crown Court jury of attempted murder; possession of a firearm, with intent to endanger life and possession of a police baton and meat cleaver as offensive weapons. He admitted unlawful possession of a .410 calibre shotgun.

Ajayi was cleared of attempted murder and inflicting grievous bodily harm, but found guilty of possession of a firearm, with intent to endanger life and possession of the police baton as an offensive weapon. He had admitted possessing the cleaver.

“We are dealing here with a feud between rivals in the drugs trade in St. Alban's, that is obvious,” said Judge Nicholas Ainley.

“A debt as little as five hundred pounds seems to have been at least one of the causes of what happened, plus a simmering background.”

Prosecutor Miss Isabel Delamere told the court: “Two to three months before there had been some altercation in a St. Alban's nightclub, with one looking at another and talk of a fight.

“It is also said Mr. Malik (pic.bottom) angered Ryan by making him wait over the supply of some cannabis.”

Ryan previously attacked a van Mr. Malik was travelling in with a hammer while Ajayi held the door closed to prevent him escaping, but never paid for the damage he caused, the jury were told.

On the morning of the shooting Ajayi was “extremly angry and aggressive” while making an 8am visit to the home of a friend of Mr. Malik.

This resulted in Mr. Malik and that friend visiting Ajayi's address and banging on the front door while only the defendant's girlfriend was inside.

“There was also a heated argument with shouting and swearing between Mr. Malik and whoever was down the end of the phone, either Ryan or Ajayi,” added Miss Delamere.

“You decided to go out for a fight with your enemy Malik and decided to do it armed with a loaded and cocked gun,” Judge Ainley told Ryan.

“You, Ajayi had armed yourself with a meat cleaver, a weapon that could easily have caused death and could have maimed anyone it was used against.

“You pulled out a police baton and Malik was there with a dog and baseball bat, but when the CCTV was pointed out to you, you realised it was madness to carry on.

“You tried to stop Ryan, you failed, and you Ryan shot at Malik once.

“I do not accept you thought he had a gun and then you chased him and tried to murder him and you fired that gun a second time.

“It is great fortune that he survived, but he was seriously injured and these injuries will last a very long time.

“These are offences of the gravest seriousness,”

In the momernts before the shooting, which took place at 10.30am, Mr. Malik had a baseball bat in one hand and a dog on a lead in the other.

“When he was shot he had neither and was seen to run across the car park, chased by Ryan, and seen raising his hand in obvious surrender, posing no threat to this defendant,” said Miss Delamere.

“That is when he was shot at a seond time.”

Mr. Malik was rushed to hospital by air ambulance and recovered from his injury.

Bentley-Driving Benefits Cheat With Expensive Tastes Behind Bars

A Bentley-driving benefits cheat, who lived a double life as a gastropub boss serving a wealthy yachting community £125 truffle and champagne burgers, was convicted of a £30,000 fraud today.

Businessman Stephen John Sussams, 59, the ex-boss of the landmark Royal Dart, The Square, Kingswear, Devon treated the council flat he received housing benefit for as his London "pied-à-terre" during the scam.

He will now swap his old gourmet menu, which included crocodile, impala and ostrich, for prison food after being remanded in custody until his sentencing on January 11 at Croydon Crown Court.

"I am not in the business of unrealistically raising expectations, " Judge Peter Gow QC told Sussams, who bitterly fought the case. "I am prepared to adjourn for a pre-sentence report, but realistically it can only go to the length of the sentence of imprisonment, which I believe is inevitable in this case."

Sussams was featured in a BBC Panorama investigation screened last year called 'Britain on the Fiddle' and when confronted while sitting in his Bentley said he refused to engage in "trial by television."

He deliberately kept his business interests and three companies secret from Croydon Council, who continued paying £14,625 to cover the rent and council tax on the one-bedroom flat he shared with his younger civil partner in Marston Way, Upper Norwood.

Sussams also drained the account of the flat's deceased former tenant, Keith Dickinson, who  once worked for nightclub boss Peter Stringfellow, stealing £17,600 in carer's allowance payments.

The jury took just ninety minutes to unanimously convict Sussams of stealing the allowance payments from the London Borough of Croydon between August 28, 2008 and January 13, 2009 and dishonestly making a false statement on or about September 19, 2008 in relation to a housing and council tax benefit claim by failing to declare he was living with his civil partner Evengy Vasin.

He was also convicted of fraud between June 1, 2009 and March 31, this year by dishonestly failing to disclose to Croydon he was the company director of Jireh Investments and Assets and similarly that he was the company director of Kingwear Inns between October 29, 2010 and March 31, this year and Kingswear Inns (Assets) between December 2, 2010 and March 31, this year. 

"This defendant was living in Devon as the landlord of that pub, he was not living in Croydon," prosecutor Miss Nancy Udom told the jury. "The flat he was claiming housing and council tax benefit on was a pied-à-terre in the south-east for Mr. Sussams."

"He had a responsibility to tell the council he was linked to a business in Devon ," added Miss Udom. "This was dishonesty, this was fraudulent.

"He knew that if he told the truth the payments would stop and he chose to be dishonest rather than lose the flat in Croydon."

The jury were told Sussams was the primary carer for Keith Dickinson, the former tenant of the flat in Marston Way, Upper Norwood.

When he died on August 28, 2008 the direct carer's payment continued being made into his bank account.

"Mr Sussams, as the primary carer, had access to this bank account and would have been aware that very large sums were coming into the bank account.

"This defendant made large withdrawals from the account, some coincided with the payments going in or within a couple of days," explained Miss Udom.

Sussams withdrew £3,500 just three days after a direct payment went in and on another occasion withdrew funds on the same day the account was credited.

"This was simply stealing. That money should have been left where it was or returned to the council, not withdrawn by Mr. Sussams."

Croydon council invoiced Sussams for the overpayment, but he simply told them all the money had been dispersed in accordance with Mr. Dickinson's will.

Sussams, who was in receipt of incapacity benefit, successfully claimed housing and council tax benefit as a sole occupier, but deliberately failed to tell the council he was sharing the property with his civil partner Evengy Vasin.

"He did not declare his true personal circumstances and failed to declare that he was living with his partner, Mr. Vasin, his civil partner," said Miss Udom. "In fact he went further and told outright lies and claimed he was the sole occupier."

The couple had a civil ceremony on August 8, 2006.

Sussams told a pack of lies to the jury, insisting he thought the allowance payments to Mr. Dickinson were his Stringfellow's pension and that he honestly believed Croydon Council knew he had his own business.

Sussams received a suspended prison sentence in 1978 for deception and theft and three years imprisonment in 1986 for cannabis production.

Croydon will pursue compensation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Bankruptcy Deputy Jailed For Stealing £85K

The deputy official receiver of Croydon was jailed for a year today by a judge who condemned her for taking £85,000 from people facing bankruptcy - blowing some of the money on a Far East holiday and furnishing her home.

Mother-of-two Samantha Jane O'Sullivan, 44, (pictured) of Davidson road, Croydon convinced solicitors, representing insolvent clients, to write cheques payable to her instead of her office and also simply pocketed cash payments made over the counter.

Ironically, the one-time £43,000 a year civil servant was forced to sell her own home, which the Insolvency Service had a charge on, to pay back some of the money she took, but is still £29,000 short.

"You are a lady with a degree and for twenty years you have worked in the financial world and worked with people who were insolvent and saw the difficulties they had," Croydon Crown Court Judge Ruth Downing told the first-time offender.

"There were other ways for you to deal with this other than stealing eighty-five thousand pounds from people in financial difficulties.

"There are thousands of people in this country giving up their homes and financial investments to cope with their financial circumstances.

"They did not have the opportunity to tap into significant sums of money as you did in your job.

"They would never have given you the money if they knew you were going to spend it on a holiday to Cambodia."

O'Sullivan also spent money on clearing debts left by her ex-husband and gave cash gifts to friends, office colleagues and her parents, claiming she had benefitted from a large inheritance.

She pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud by abuse of position between February 14 and March 22, last year in relation to £1,715; £43,142; £1,500; £15,000; £18,383 and £6,253.

Cash payments she stole from the office included £1,500 one woman paid to secure the ownership of her own property and a statutory fee of £1,715. 

The remaining frauds involved hoodwinking two solicitors and an individual to make cheques payable to herself when financially desperate people were forced to sell their homes to cover debts.

After selling her family home for £237,000 O'Sullivan repaid £56,000 to the Insolvency Service and moved into rented accommodation and claimed benefits.

"The victims were clearly vulnerable, they were already bankrupt," said prosecutor Miss Olivia Kong.

"She was suffering moderate to severe depression and had emotionally unstable personality disorder on the basis of the impulsivity of her behaviour and inability to plan ahead," said Miss Abigail Penny, defending.

"She had been in a marriage with a man who had drug problems and he ran up significant debts on her credit cards and she paid a substantial amount of money, around twenty-three thousand pounds, for him to get a plumbing qualification and lost all the money."

O'Sullivan's employers told her she could not work at the office if she declared herself bankrupt.

"She thought there was no way back," added Miss Penny. "She realised what she did at the time was abhorrent as the deputy official receiver and always intended to pay the money back.

"She handed over to the official receiver anything she had of value and now feels she has nothing left in terms of dignity, professional standing and everything she has worked for."

Judge Downing added: "It is an overwhelming abuse of a position of trust. She has taken eighty-five thousand pounds of other people's money to sort out her financial affairs."