A man who stabbed his friend after catching him in bed with his ex, a drug dealer who killed over a £30 debt and a man who killed his own mum are just some of the south London criminals who were jailed in April.
Some of these men and women will spend most of the lives behind bars, others will be out in weeks.
Here's are the names and faces of south Londoners who judges have put behind bars this month.
Ka Chun Wong
He entered his ex-girlfriend Ji Wu's Deptford flat uninvited and found her in bed naked with his long-time friend Zhi Liang Chen.
Wong then pulled out a meat cleaver and began hacking at them both, cutting off two of Mr Chen’s fingers in the process.
Wong then made the pair give him their phones and told them not to call the police before leaving.
Four days later he was traced to a hostel-type premises in Brighton which had been rented out under the name Jack until December 2023.
£2,000 in cash was found in a rucksack, indicating he planned to lie low for a few months.
A jury found Wong guilty of attempting to murder Mr Chen and he admitted grievous bodily harm against Ms Wu.
Wong was jailed for 25 years for the horror attack and was told that he will be deported to China when he is released from prison.
Read the full story - Deptford man tried to murder friend who was in bed with his ex with meat cleaver
Michael Commettant
He was working as a learning behaviour mentor at an unnamed school in south London when he struck up a relationship with a teenage girl.
When the school reported concerns Commettant was arrested and his home was searched.
Metropolitan Police detectives discovered he had been communicating with the victim via a secret email account which he had used to hide messages he had sent to her.
Examination of his phone records revealed he had called the victim multiple times from a withheld number.
When interviewed he remained silent and issued a prepared statement denying that he ever forced her to commit sexual acts.
He later pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity by a person in a position of trust and has now been jailed for 18 months.
Read the full story - South London school worker who had sexual relationship with pupil is jailed
Marcus Adepoju
The incident happened in April 2023 when police were called to a house on Nelgarde Road, in Catford, to reports of a man who had been shot through the window by a masked man.
The three shots were fire at him which caused extensive damage to the property and gave the man superficial wounds from glass shards.
They said footage showed the suspect walking to the scene from a house in Laleham Road, in Hither Green, Lewisham, and returning there later.
Officers analysed those coming in and out of the property and identified Marcus Adepoju – travelling from the house to a storage facility in nearby Forest Hill.
They recovered two firearms alongside ammunition, drugs, cash and knives and at another storage facility they linked to Adepoju they found more ammunition, cash and drugs.
Adepoju was jailed for 28 years.
Read the full story - 'Extremely dangerous' man jailed after shooting someone over £3.50 debt in Catford
Steffon Hewitt
On March 8, 2020, Hewitt called emergency services to his home saying that he found his mum on the bathroom floor unresponsive.
When paramedics arrived, Vanita Nowell was already dead.
Hewitt said that he had attempted CPR on his mum and that she “may have broken a few ribs”.
Medical enquiries later showed that the extent of the fractures could not have been caused by him performing CPR.
Hewitt blamed his mum’s death on her falling over from her dementia but investigators found this was untrue when looking at forensic and medical evidence.
In total Vanita suffered 28 fresh rib fractures, and six fractures of her spine, with extensive bruising all over.
Hewitt was sentenced to a minimum term of 21 years' imprisonment on April 16.
Read the full story - Peckham man beat his mum to death leaving her with traumatic brain injury
Jason Curtis
Jason Curtis and Kaydon Prior murdered 25-year-old Harrison Tomkins after forcing entry to Prior’s ex-partner's flat.
On August 13 last year, the pair were on a night out in Chelsea to celebrate Curtis’ 22nd birthday.
But at around 1.30am they made their way back to Crawley after they found out Prior’s ex-girlfriend was out with another man, Harrison Tomkins.
The pair were seen outside a cocktail bar at 3am looking for her, before getting a taxi to her flat on Arthur Road.
They gained entry to the communal area and heard her and Harrison inside the flat.
This prompted Prior to call for a taxi to go to his home address in Hazelwick Road, where prosecutors said he got the key to his ex’s flat and a knife to carry out the attack on Harrison.
At 5.30am, Prior and Curtis burst into Prior’s ex-girlfriend’s flat and Harrison was stabbed multiple times.
Curtis was found hiding in a bush by a drone, while Prior was arrested at his home address.
During his arrest, Curtis said to an officer: “Who’s been murdered? I’ve been on a night out as it’s my birthday.”
Both men have been jailed for life after being convicted of murder.
Read the full story - Dulwich killer jailed for murdering man who was in bed with his friend’s ex.
Lee Silvester
In April 2022, officers from Metropolitan Police observed a man at a storage unit in west London. He was stopped and arrested in the process of unloading class A drugs from his vehicle.
It was later revealed to have a street value of £600,000.
The man was charged and remanded and later sentenced to over five years in prison for possession with intent to supply offences.
His phone, which was seized by officers, led them to identify Silvester as the person “directing and controlling” the convicted man.
An investigation began and in September 2022 he was arrested and found to be in possession of class A drugs valued at over £50,000.
A search of Silvester’s home uncovered what police described as a “wealth of evidence” including further drugs and associated paraphernalia, with heat sealing devices, packaging equipment and a ‘burner’ phone which showed he had been in regular contact with the other man.
Police also found that that Silvester was on the contract for the storage unit alongside the other man.
Read the full story - Bromley dealer ran operation importing drugs from abroad using storage unit
Kelly TieTie
A court heard that she was part of a gang whose ringleaders had been recruiting young people to deal drugs.
The investigation was launched in February 2023 when three children aged between 12 and 17 went missing from Leicestershire.
The children were traced to High Wycombe and then returned home of their own accord, which created suspicions.
It was believed they had been dispatched to London by train to transport money before being relocated to High Wycombe for drug dealing.
Police revealed that 20-year-old Keilo Senior and 27-year-old Taysharn Frimpong-Modeste led the organisation.
TieTie was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment after she pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin, and possession of criminal property.
Read the full story - Bromley woman jailed for role in child trafficking drugs operation
Courage Ekhator
He then threatened to kill her and told her he would rape her mum and burn her caravan down.
When a judge sentenced him to two years and two months in prison on Monday (April 22), Ekhator sobbed and cried out “I cannot do it”.
Read the full story - Abusive Sidcup man who threatened to rape girlfriend's mum sobs as he’s jailed
Daniel Lee
At around 10.46am on December 10, 2023, he entered the shop then confronted a man working alone behind the desk and demanded money.
CCTV footage shows Lee pointing the gun at the victim’s head and assaulting him with the butt of the gun several times, causing minor injuries to his head.
He was dressed distinctively in a black hooded jumper, balaclava, one black glove, one yellow glove, and a pair of black trainers with an orange/red band at the back.
The court also heard that Lee stole an iPhone from the counter and a Samsung phone from the victim’s inside jacket pocket before leaving the scene on a bike, holding the cash shop drawer.
Later on, he was seen on a footpath near the newsagents trying to break open the cash drawer using the butt of the gun.
Lee discarded the pair of gloves on the footpath, which were later found by police.
He was later identified by DNA on these gloves and was jailed for six years and four months.
Read the full story - Robber threatened and injured lone newsagents worker with gun in Eltham
Dedan Simmons
Victim Shaun McEvoy was described as having a heart of gold but had been battling a drug addiction for years.
On February 15 last year he was at his flat in Kennington when drug dealer Simmons stormed in shouting “where’s my f***ing money”.
Simmons attacked Shaun and repeatedly stamped on his chest, inflicting internal injuries which caused him to collapse and die later that day.
Shaun’s daughter, Carla, said: “I understand drug use. I understand his killer is a drug dealer and he has to make money for his product. I understand he needs to get paid and probably has his own bosses that he needs to pay.
“But I cannot understand why he did this. It was a brutal act of violence for just £30. My father was not a strong man, he was not a fighting man. This did not need to happen.
“My father has been taken away from me twice, first by drugs sold by this man, and now by his senseless murder.”
Read the full story - 'My dad was beaten to death over £30 debt, now my kids won't know their grandpa'
Amy Legemah
On February 10 this year she entered the shop to buy some sweets but when her card was declined she became abusive and started throwing sweets on the floor.
As she continued to abuse the shop worker, he ushered her out of the shop and locked the door.
While outside the shop she continued to shout, then threw a bottle at the window at the shop window, causing it to smash.
She was jailed for 10 months.
Legemah was previously convicted of being in charge of a dangerous dog after her XL Bully attacked a child and her Rottweiler attacked a woman.
Read the full story - Bereaved XL Bully owner terrorised Abbey Wood shopkeeper after card was declined
Vinnie Pinkman
He built relationships with children on online video games and chat rooms then made them send extreme sexual images and videos.
The Met Police worked with Greater Manchester Police and North Wales Police to gather evidence from his young victims.
Pinkman was subsequently convicted of two counts of sexual communication with a child, two counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 into sexual activity, three counts of possessing extreme pornographic images and one count of possession of a prohibited image.
He was jailed for seven years.
Read the full story - Eltham teen ‘befriended’ kids then manipulated them into sending sexual videos
Ruddy Ewengere and Tre Fraser
On September 25 last year Met Police officers raided their property on Windsor Road and found Ewengue inside.
They also found over £11,000 in cash, heroin and crack cocaine of a street value of over £5,000 and a set of scales and a razor blade was recovered.
On the same day Thames Valley police officers found Fraser inside a property on Oxford Street in Reading.
A search of the property revealed 171 wraps of crack cocaine and 64 wraps of heroin with a combined street value of around £2,390.
The pair were sentenced to four years and six months in prison each.
Read the full story - Thornton Heath dealers caught with £11,000 cash and £7,300 worth of drugs
Larry Connors
He broke into homes up and down England stealing cash and jewellery.
But police managed to track him down after he sloppily left DNA on window frames.
In November 2021 he broke into a home on Harcourt Avenue in Sidcup.
He stole nothing, but officers found his DNA on a glove mark on a window frame.
Then in September 2022 he broke into a home on Shadwell Drive in Northolt, north west London.
He stole more than £17,000 worth of cash and jewellery, but again his DNA was found on a window.
As a result of the DNA, police were able to identify Connors as their suspect in these two burglaries, as well as two more in Chester and Cambridge.
He was jailed for four years and six months.
Read the full story - Prolific home burglar caught after unsuccessful Sidcup raid
Jamal Francis, Jarell McKenzie, Gregton Bower and James Rowland
On June 1, 2023, armed police stopped the minicab on Cranbrook Road, Deptford.
All four passengers in the vehicle attempted to make off from police.
Jamal Francis, 21, was detained within the vehicle and a large black and orange handled knife was located down the back of his trousers.
Jarell McKenzie, 20, was detained after a short foot chase.
He was found to be in possession of a large knife and a bag of cannabis.
Gregton Bower, 19, ran for quite a distance while being followed by armed police officers.
While being chased, Bower threw a samurai sword into bushes on Broadway Fields.
He was eventually detained and arrested on New Butt Lane. Bower also had a bag of cannabis.
The fourth man managed to get away, however extensive CCTV and forensic lines of enquiry led to the arrest of James Rowland, 21, on June 30.
A search of the car recovered a loaded firearm in the rear of the vehicle.
All four defendants were found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
- Jamal Francis, 21, of Adenmore Road, SE6 was jailed for 16 years
- Jarell McKenzie, 20, of Avon Road, SE4 was jailed for nine years
- Gregton Bower, 19, of Lewisham Way, SE4 was jailed for 13 years
- James Rowland, 21, of Breakspears Road, SE4 was jailed for 14 years
Read the full story - Men caught with gun and knives after armed police chase in south east London
Evan Girdlestone
He used an industrial unit in Wimbledon as a production line to convert the weapons.
He became the subject of a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation in April last year and the following month he was arrested in a car park in Croydon.
Underneath the passenger seat of his car was was a converted gun with two magazines of ammunition.
NCA officers then performed a search of his industrial unit and found three more converted guns and four unconverted blank firers.
They also found 174 rounds of live ammunition, a quantity of spent ammunition and multiple tools used to convert blank firers.
Read the full story - South London plumber converted guns into lethal weapons
Adele Okojie-Aidonojie
She had been drinking alcohol and driving at more than double the speed limit when her Mini Cooper overturned.
Passengers Rida Boutjettif, 24, and Mary Macharia, 23, were flung from the vehicle and died at the scene while her boyfriend, Ben Sidibe, suffered a fractured arm and a bleed to the brain.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey, student Okojie-Aidonojie, from Bromley, south London, was found guilty of two charges of causing death by dangerous driving and one of causing injury by dangerous driving.
On Friday, Judge Richard Marks KC described her conduct as “sheer madness” adding: “Especially moments before the collision, your two passengers to your knowledge had been standing up dancing.”
He rejected the suggestion that someone in the back had tugged her arm, saying: “It is clear there was one reason and one reason only for this collision, namely the grossly excessive speed you were travelling.”
The judge also paid tribute to the victims’ families who had been “utterly devastated at the untimely, tragic and needless deaths”.
Read the full story - Bromley driver who killed couple 'twerking' in back of car jailed
John Harris Bolton
He repeatedly targeted the shop over six months, taking meat, alcohol, and other products amounting to £6,500.
He was arrested on February 4 and despite his initial charge and bail, he continued to steal.
He was rearrested on March 13 and taken to Bexleyheath Magistrates’ Court where pleaded guilty to 31 counts of theft.
Bolton was jailed for 35 weeks and is also banned from entering any south east London based BP store for the next five years.
Read the full story - Prolific thief who stole £6,000 worth of goods from Greenwich BP store
Omar Edwards
He was the first passenger to board a flight from Jamaica to London Gatwick on November 12, 2022.
Read the full story - Abusive passenger vaped and assaulted cabin crew on Gatwick flight.
As he walked on he was seen grabbing items from seats in an area of the aircraft he was not travelling in.
He was challenged about this twice and then was spoken to by a cabin crew member after he was suspected of vaping in the toilet on board.
When he was challenged on the return flight he demanded a drink and was told that if he sat down a drink would be taken to him.
But instead he snatched a carton of juice and tried to walk away.
During the incident he assaulted a cabin crew worker, Sussex Police said.
He was jailed for five months after he was found guilty of behaving in a threatening, abusive, insulting and disorderly manner to cabin crew, contrary to the Air Navigation Order 2016, and assault.
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