Living The Champagne Lifestyle - The Croydon Way

An angry nightclub customer, who smashed a champagne bottle and used the shard to attack a man who had fallen into him, has dodged jailed with a suspended sentence.

Daniel Ewenighi, 25, of Waters Road, Catford fought outside the 'Shooshh' club, (pictured) Crown Hill, Croydon before returning with the improvised weapon, cutting the victim's ear as he lunged toward him.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to wounding scaffolder and amateur boxer Glen Bowden on August 7, last year and was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to perform 300 hours community service.

Prosecutor Mr. Hamish Reid told the court the victim was in a smoking area outside the club at just before 2am and fell into the back of the defendant as he climbed the steep flight of stairs to re-enter.

Mr. Bowden told police later:"Even though I apologised he tried to grab hold of me and was up for a fight."

Bouncers split up and ejected the brawling pair, but Mr. Bowden explained how the confrontation escalated in the street.

"I heard shouting and saw him smash a large champagne bottle. He swung the broken bottle at me and as I got my arm up the bottle caught me on my left ear and by my neck."

The victim was rushed to Mayday A&E, where he receives six sutures to the wound.

Ewenighi was arrested on August 15 via driving licence details he had given entering the club.

Midnight Pedestrian Tragedy: Mini-Cab Driver Cleared

A mini-cab driver was cleared of blame by a jury on Friday in relation to the tragic death of a pedestrian - struck just after midnight at a notorious accident blackspot.

Syed-Ajamal Syedzadah, 29, (pictured) of Clarence Road, Croydon had just exited the Wellesley Road underpass when his vehicle hit Manchester man James Worthe as he crossed the duel carriageway.

The pedestrian - who had consumed up to a dozen pints of Guinness during a night out with a friend - suffered fractures to his ribs, spine, skull and face, causing brain trauma and a collapsed lung.

Syedzadah had pleaded not guilty at Croydon Crown Court to causing the death of Mr. Worthe on January 23, last year by driving without due care and attention and was found not guilty by the jury.

The court heard there had been a meeting in a private room between the defendant and Mr. Worthe's family within the building, which was hoped would go some way to healing the wounds of the tragedy.

Prosecutor Mr. Philip Rule told the court Syedzadah, who had been driving a mini-cab for over a year, was travelling to the Jury's Inn hotel at 12.30am to collect a fare.

Mr. Worthe, who was working in London, had been watching football with a friend in a pub half a mile away from the tragedy.

The pair were seen walking and singing in the street afterwards and Mr. Worthe, whose blood alcohol level was equivalent to three times the drink-drive limit, decided to cross the road alone.

"He crossed the road where he should not have been," explained Mr. Rule. "It was the head of Mr. Worthe that struck the windscreen and his body struck the bonnet and the roof."

A police accident investigator estimated Syedzadeh's speed at the time of impact as between 40mph-50mph.

When quizzed the defendant told police he tried to brake to avoid the collision on the road, which has a 30mph limit.

Rapist Who Tried To Dodge Justice Is Jailed

Justice finally caught up with a rapist, who went on the run after attacking a 25 year-old woman, when he was caged for seven years on Friday.

Laurence Chris Chinagu, 37, of Albert Square, Stratford was convicted by a Wood Green Crown Court jury and was also placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

Chinagu (pictured) was found guilty of raping the woman at an address in Great Amwell Lane, New River Village, Hornsey at 10.30pm on December 1, 2009.

He was arrested, questioned and bailed, but failed to return to his police station appointment in June 2010 and there was a publicity campaign to trace him a year later.

On-The-Run Paedo Caught And Caged

A paedophile, who jumped bail after police caught him with over one thousand sick pornographic videos and images of children, was jailed for eight months yesterday.

Sean King, 43, of Chancellor Gardens, South Croydon must also sign the Sex Offenders Register for ten years.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court (pictured) to seven sample counts of possessing level one to four indecent images of children at his home address on or before September 6, last year.

Police investigating the Limewire online file-sharing service identified King as a potential suspect and officers visited his home at 2.15pm.

The defendant answered his front door and after claiming he left his laptop at work it was found stashed in a living-room wardrobe.

"This what you are looking for," King told the officers, adding: "I'm stupid sometimes. You might find a couple."

Police identified a total of 1,054 indecent images of children involved in various sexual acts.

King was quizzed and bailed, but failed to return for his police station appointment and was circulated as wanted.

He was arrested on May 3 and charged the next day.

Judge Daniel Flahive told him: "You had over one thousand images in your possession, which included sexual activity between adults and children."

Scumbag Sentenced For Double OAP Scam

A "mean and callous" serial rogue trader, who targeted elderly and vulnerable victims in a gardening and roofing scam, was jailed for fifteen months today.

Irish traveller Harry Smith, 22, of Bloxham Road, Milton, Oxfordshire conned £4,000 out of a Kent couple in their eighties who suffered with dementia and plotted to extract £800 from an 85 year-old Croydon pensioner.

"It is such a mean offence, it is callous," said the Recorder of Croydon Judge Warwick Mckinnon. "It is pre-meditated, planned and he has done it before."

Smith pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation between July 30 and August 2, 2010 in relation to James and Jean McBride - aged 86 and 83 - of Sevenoaks.

He also pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud Charles Hammond, 85, of Park Road, Kenley and fraudulently failing to to disclose information to the victim, namely his cancellation rights on April 11, last year.

Prosecutor Miss Francesca Levett told the court the Kent couple were approached by the defendant to carry out gardening work at their home of thirty years and convinced them to write him a £4,000 cheque.

"They are vulnerable and elderly people and no work was ever carried out."

Police were only called after the couple's son, Chris, spotted the payment and it was traced to an account in the name of J Smith, which the defendant had opened.

Illness has since forced Jean into a care home and James is visited by a carer twice a day.

When arrested Smith denied the scam, but records of a police stop in Goathurst Common, Ide Hill placed him in the vicinity.

To save the victims giving evidence Smith was given a chance to refund the £4,000 in return for the charge being dropped, but he simply vanished and was circulated as wanted.

He later claimed a fundraising attempt at a Christian Travellers Convention failed to raise the necessary compensation.

Smith and an accomplice cold-called Mr. Hammond, with the defendant claiming he was the son of the roofer who worked on the victim's garage two years earlier and wanted to check its condition.

"Mr. Smith said he felt the roof would not survive the summer," said Miss Levett. "In reality the felt was in good condition and no work was required."

After initially trying to scam Mr. Hammond - who has since passed away - out of £2,250 for the £30 job an £800 fee was agreed.

Smith's accomplice - who was jailed for eight months - then used a broom to spread cheap bitumen over the roof.

When Smith demanded payment and the victim had no money in the house the accomplice drove the pensioner to the bank while the defendant remained alone in the property.

The money was not available and the two conmen agreed to return the next day, but Mr. Hammond was now suspicious and police were waiting when they arrived.

Officers seized their unregistered VW Passat van, which will now be confiscated.

In 2008 Smith received a suspended youth custody sentence in Somerset for a similar scam when he charged a lady £4,000 for covering her drive with £35 worth of tarmac.

Judge McKinnon told a tearful Smith, who will now miss the birth of his wife's twins: "These offences are similar and you have a previous conviction.

"They are mean and nasty because they prey on the age and vulnerability of elderly victims who do not have the same shield as young, healthy people.

"There was an obvious degree of planning, pre-meditation and deception by saying you were the son of the roofer. A deliberate lie."

Smith repaid the £4,000 the day before he was sentenced, but no order for costs was made against him despite Croydon Council alone spending over £20,000 to investigate and prosecute the case.

Over a dozen travellers were in court for the sentencing.

G.P. Gets Two Years For Groping Patients

A respected GP, who molested eight female patients aged eight to forty, for his "own sexual gratification" was jailed for two years today.

Despite repeated complaints about Dr. Markandu Ragupathy, 62, (pic.top) at the South London surgery he continued to abuse patients for almost a decade.

Dr. Ragupathy, a senior practise partner and also the surgery's child protection leader, convinced fellow doctors and staff the multiple complaints were the result of a "misunderstanding" or "miscommunication."

"The victims were eight of your female patients and occurred over a period of ten years while you were a general practitioner," Woolwich Crown Court Judge Andrew Lees told the doctor.

"Those eight patients trusted you as their doctor to carry out proper examinations and you abused that trust by touching them in sexual ways.

"They were vulnerable and thought you were carrying out necessary examinations. You touched them to satisfy your own sexual gratification.

"This is clearly a case of a serious abuse of trust by you in relation to your patients," added the judge. "This was a course of conduct that took place over ten years and continued after you knew complaints were being made."

The doctor, a married man with children, continued to be supported by his relatives in court.

"I know you are a family man," Judge Lees told the first-time offender. "I know there will be hardship in prison."

Dr. Ragupathy will sign the Sex Offenders Register for ten years and a Sexual Offences Prevention Order was made, prohibiting him being employed in a medical capacity or any capacity which brings him into contact with children under sixteen years-old.

"This is for the protection of the public from serious harm," said Judge Lees.

He denied the charges, forcing his many victims to give evidence, and prosecutor Mr. Toby Fitzgerald told the jury he: "Used his position of trust to satisfy his own sexual gratification and curiosity."

From the mid-90's until 2007 the GP, of Den Close, Beckenham, was employed at the Torridon Road Medical Practice in Catford, (pic.bottom) where seven of the complainants were sexually assaulted.

"The defendant remained free at the practise to sexually assault other patients and believed the practise would accept any explanation and for some years he was correct in thinking this," added Mr. Fitzgerald.

Dr. Ragupathy was convicted of seven indecent assaults, one attempted indecent assault and one sexual assault. He was found not guilty on nine similar counts.

Patient B, 16, saw Dr. Ragupathy with breathlessness. "He put the stethoscope on her left breast and massaged the breast with the stethoscope. She felt disturbed by how the defendant behaved."

Patient C, 20, saw the GP for a suspected tonsillitis. "During the appointment he lifted her jumper and bra, exposing her left breast and lifted it with his hand and repeated with the right breast and said: 'Your chest if fine'."

Patient D, 8, had a chest infection when she attended an appointment with her mother.

"The defendant touched her inner thighs and between her legs and there was no good reason for this. He simply took his chance to touch her this way."

Patient E, 15, saw the GP while pregnant and with flu symptoms. "The defendant locked the door and began to feel all over her breasts."

Patient F, 30, was wheezing when she saw the doctor. "He placed the stethoscope on her right breast and asked if she was in a relationship."

Patient G, 30, had a thigh rash. "The defendant pulled her knickers to one side. He just took the chance, which he saw as a sexual opportunity."

She returned with bruising inflicted by her boyfriend. "The defendant put his hands inside the waistband of her jeans and pulled them towards him and asked: 'What colour knickers have you got on?"

Patient H, 36, was three months pregnant when she saw Dr. Ragupathy for the first time.

"He announced he needed to check her breasts while holding out his cupped hands. He said he needed to check if she was able to breast feed,"

Patient I, 40, had a rash and was visited at home by the defendant, who was also employed by an out-of-hours service.

"The defendant asked her to sit on his lap so he could listen to her chest and later made a comment about making a woman of her.

"He then went to his car for some medical cream and rubbed it into her chest."

Judge Lees sentenced Dr. Ragupathy to two years' imprisonment for the offence relating to the eight year-old and on all the other charges he received twelve months to run concurrent.

"He has retired from medical practice and he will not be going back," said Mr. Alan Jenkins, defending.

"Others will ensure that does not happen. He does not pose a risk to anyone apart from patients."

Dr. Ragupathy is currently suspended by the General Medical Council and misconduct proceedings will follow.

The New Killing Fields: Student Murdered In Conker Confrontation

A teenager has been convicted of murdering a young architecture student – whose parents swapped their Colombian homeland for the killing fields of North London.

Steven Grisales, 21, (pictured) was stabbed through the heart after confronting a group of youths who were throwing conkers at him.

The fifteen year-old Edmonton schoolboy, who is too young to be identified, was found guilty by an Old Bailey jury of the murder in nearby College Close on August 31, last year.

He will be sentenced on June 13.

Steven was walking to Silver Street train station after dropping off shopping to his grandmother when he was stabbed.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Richard Beadle of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command (HSCC) said:
”Steven did no more than stand up to an unruly youth and for that he has lost his life.

“But for the courageous intervention of a local resident I am convinced the knife attack would have continued.

“The man placed himself in front of Steven while the youth was repeatedly attempting to stab Steven again.



“The defendant has shown no remorse and has continually lied about his involvement.

“Fortunately the jury saw through this dishonest charade. His arrogance and contempt for others belies his age. 



“I am extremely grateful to those witnesses who came forward - without them we would not have achieved a successful prosecution.

“Sadly there were others, known to the defendant, who held vital information and refused to help the inquiry.

“In fact they did all they could to deter the investigation and ultimately justice. 



“I hope this conviction will bring some sense of justice to Steven’s family who have been devastated by his murder.

“He truly was a nice honest young man with a bright future. 



“A moment of madness by an armed individual resulted in the most tragic of circumstances. Steven Grisales should be alive today.”



Steven’s mother, Jasmid Grisales said: “We just want to take this opportunity to thank the prosecution, they did a really great job, the police for all the hard work in putting all the evidence together, a very big thank you to the witnesses, without them, we could not get this excellent result.



“Also a really big thank you to victim support from the start of our nightmare, they have been supporting us in every single way and they really are making our lives easier, they done so much to help us get through this terrible experience, we can see and feel the big difference that they make in our lives.



“It is true to say that this verdict does not change our lives in anyway because we lost Steven for ever and he is not coming back to us. We have to carry this cross for the rest of our lives. 



“Steven was always loved by absolutely every person who had the privilege of knowing him and calling him a friend, cousin, nephew, grandson, son or brother.

“He always gave without expecting anything in return and he always tried for everyone around him to be happy. 



“This result can show that in a way it is justice and people should start learning that for every wrong you do, sooner or later you have to pay the price.”



Police were called shortly after 7.00pm following reports of an injured man.



On arrival officers learnt the defendant, in the company of other youths and not known to Steven, had began to throw conkers at him.

Steven initially remonstrated with the youths, but the defendant produced a knife and stabbed him.



The defendant ran from the scene, but only after a local resident intervened to stop a further attack.

Sadly this was not enough to save Steven, who was taken to the Royal London Hospital where he died the next day.

A post-mortem gave cause of death as a single stab wound to the heart.



Cab Driver Accused Of Midnight Death Tragedy

A mini-cab driver was speeding at up to 50 mph when his car struck a drunken pedestrian - crossing a notorious accident blackspot after downing up to a dozen pints of Guinness - a jury were told yesterday.

Syed-Ajamal Syedzadah, 29, (pictured) of Clarence Road, Croydon had just exited the Wellesley Road underpass after midnight when his vehicle hit Manchester man James Worthe.

The pedestrian tragically suffered fractures to his ribs, spine, skull and face, causing brain trauma and a collapsed lung.

Syedzadah has pleaded not guilty at Croydon Crown Court to causing the death of Mr. Worthe on January 23, last year by driving without due care and attention.

Prosecutor Mr. Philip Rule told the court Syedzadah, who had been driving a mini-cab for over a year, was travelling to the Jury's Inn hotel at 12.30am to collect a fare.

Mr. Worthe, who was working in London, had been watching football with a friend in a pub half a mile away from the tragedy.

The pair were seen walking and singing in the street afterwards and Mr. Worthe, whose blood alcohol level was equivalent to three times the drink-drive limit, decided to cross the road alone.

"He crossed the road where he should not have been," explained Mr. Rule. "It was the head of Mr. Worthe that struck the windscreen and his body struck the bonnet and the roof."

A police accident investigator estimated Syedzadeh's speed at the time of impact as between 40mph-50mph.

When quizzed the defendant told police he tried to brake to avoid the collision on the road, which has a 30mph limit.

Trial continues………….

Knifeman Nicked After Calling Plod

A boozy assault victim, who armed himself with a bread knife after being repeatedly punched in the face during a drinking-session at a suburban house, has dodged jailed with a suspended sentence.

Gerry Harry-Marcelle, 52, who lives on disability benefits, called 999 after claiming he was struck several times with a crushed beer can, but ended up being arrested himself.

He pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article outside the address in Egerton Road, South Norwood (pictured) on April 13 and was sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for a year.

Croydon Crown Court heard when officers arrived they found Harry-Marcelle, who had cuts to his face, sitting in the back of his car complaining friends had beaten him up and thrown him out of the house.

There had been seven people in the address and the defendant claimed when one man started striking him in the face with the can another joined in and he was ejected without his trousers and shoes.

He travelled the short distance home to collect the knife, which the officers seized on arrival.

Harry-Marcelle was also ordered to perform 100 hours community service and obey a three-month night time curfew.

Ex-Jailbird's £30K Benefit Scam

A disgraced ex-care home manager, who pocketed over £30,000 in benefits by lying she was a single-mum in a "parasitic" scam, has dodged a return to prison with a suspended sentence.

Housekeper Christine Constant, 46, (pictured) of Dunsfield Way, New Addington was exposed by an undercover council operation, which proved her husband, engineer Wayne, was still part of the family.

Mum-of-two Constant, who received twelve months' imprisonment in 2005 on five counts of theft from her former care home employers, began claiming benefits soon after her release.

She pleaded guilty to failing to inform Croydon Council of a change of circumstances between September 3, 2007 and November 15, 2009 in relation to her claims for housing and council tax benefit.

She also similarly pleaded guilty to failing to inform the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) between August 28, 2007 and November 10, 2009 in relation to an income support claim.

Constant defrauded £21,893 in housing benefit, £2,408 in council tax benefit and £6,932 in income support.

"Several families must have worked their fingers to the bone while you were living off them," Recorder William Featherby told Constant. "It's greed at the public expense.

"Your greed has again caught up with you. You are parasitic on them, it's quite disgraceful."

Prosecutor Miss Ini Udom told the court the defendant began claiming in March, 2006 as a single-mum with no savings.

However, she did not tell the council or the DWP her husband, who works full-time and nets £1500 per month, was living with her as a member of the family.

The council had conducted a surveillance operation and identified the husband's van parked outside the family home. He was also registered with the local G.P. and the couple shared financial ties.

Constant was quizzed on March 24, 2010.

"She denied the allegations and said her husband was of no fixed address and only stayed with her once or twice a week," added Miss Udom.

"She said his van was parked outside on occasions because he was a drinker and did not want to drive."

The following month Constant declared she was living with her husband.

She now nets £1100 per month as a housekeeper.

"This was a substantial amount of fraud," added Recorder Weatherby, sentencing Constant to four months imprisonment, suspended for twelve months, plus twelve months probation supervision.

The defendant was also ordered to pay £5,000 compensation to Croydon Council within twelve months or serve three months imprisonment.

"This lady needs to work hard to pay off the debt," concluded the Recorder.

Jail For Building Site Raider

A would-be construction equipment thief - caught in the early hours by police after a local resident raised the alarm - was jailed for eighteen months yesterday.

Car mechanic Daniel Jones, 27, of Carfax Avenue, Tongham, Surrey raided the site with two accomplices, intent on making off with thousands of pounds worth of equipment.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court (pictured) to attempting to steal jackhammer drills, alone worth £27,000, and other equipment in Rye Crescent, Orpington on July 20, last year.

A local lorry driver called the police at 5am because of suspicious movements on the site and the presence of a flat-bed truck three hours before work usually started.

Jones, who had been driving a digger when officers arrived, tried to flee, but was caught and handcuffed.

He claimed he thought the two accomplices were allowed on the site and he was helping them for a £200 fee, but admitted his guilt on the day he was due to stand trial.

"These crimes are prevalent in society at the moment, people going onto building sites and taking metal and the like," announced Judge Heather Baucher.

"You were chosen because of your skills in commercial vehicles and this was a specific digger on a building site that you were trying to get away," the judge told Jones, who has forty-two previous convictions.

"You tried to escape and you hid your appearance by pulling your hood up."

Footballer Scores Own Goal With Xmas Party Grope

Bad-boy footballer Lee Hughes was fined £500 today and bound over to keep the peace after putting his hand between a shocked young woman's legs during hotel Christmas party and lifting her into the air.

Notts County striker Hughes, 36, (pictured) of River Crescent, Waterside Way, Nottingham pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to common assault and was also ordered to pay £120 costs.

He had originally been charged with sexual assault, but after the Crown Prosecution Service consulted the victim his not guilty plea was accepted and the lesser charge preferred.

"This dates back to the third of December last year," said prosecutor Mr. Julius Capon. "The defendant is a professional footballer and was staying with others in his team at the Aerodrome Hotel.

"There was a fire alarm and everyone had to leave the hotel and assembled in the car park outside.

"The complainant had attended a works function at the hotel, a Christmas party, and was speaking to her friends when the defendant, who had not spoken to her and who she did not know, put his hand between her legs, under her dress and lifted her up into the air.

"The complainant was annoyed and upset and afterwards Mr. hughes tried to hug her and suggested he was having a laugh.

"This was inappropriate and disgraceful conduct," added Mr. Capon.

The court was not told of Hughes' previous conviction of causing the death of father-of-four Douglas Graham by dangerous driving in Meriden, Coventry, for which he received six years imprisonment in August 2004 and was released after serving half the sentence.

He had played for West Brom, Coventry City and Kidderminster Harriers before that drink-drive tragedy and since his release has played for Oldham Athletic and Notts County.

Hughes' lawyer told the court the hotel incident was no more sinister than "horseplay."

"This was utterly inappropriate," the Recorder of Croydon Warwick McKinnon told Hughes, binding him over to keep the peace for twelve months in the sum of £500.

Hughes' defence team had asked for the case to be listed at 2pm, but arrived two hours early and the case was called on almost immediately.