As sadly happens every year, Derby and Derbyshire has seen some heinous crimes committed and criminals jailed for what they have done during 2024.
Here, reporter Martin Naylor selects one from each month of the year, which have stuck out.
January
“Angry and remorseless” Derby grandfather Ian Magee was handed a 12-year sentence at the age of 61 for stabbing a total stranger in a city centre pub. A judge told Ian Magee he had “no victim empathy” for Nicholas Watkins whose neck he plunged a blade into inside the Standing Order Wetherspoons pub in Iron Gate in broad daylight in front of other drinkers.
At the time the granddad of 11 had drunk “six or seven” pints of cider and just a couple of weeks earlier had pulled out a knife and a lump hammer in Tesco in St Peter’s Street and threatened a security guard and shop manager with them. And in a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Watkins told how he still dreams he is being stabbed and lying on the floor.
Ian Magee was handed a 12-year sentence
(Image: Derbyshire Police)
Handing Magee, of Shalfleet Drive, Alvaston, a 12-year prison sentence, Recorder Graham Huston said: “The stark reality is that stabbing a man in the neck is an inherently dangerous thing to do and there can be no other intention when stabbing a man in the neck other than to cause really serious injury. You have shown no remorse or victim empathy for what you did.”
The stabbing took place on the afternoon of April 6, 2023. Magee, when he gave evidence, said he did not remember carrying out the stabbing but a jury took less than two hours to convict him of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
February
Persistent harasser Adrian Maltby followed former Derbyshire MP Maggie Throup and three members of staff from her constituency office in Ilkeston to where they had parked cars menacingly telling them “now I know where you park”. The 49-year-old, of Ilkeston, then pretended to take photographs of the women driving off leaving them fearing for their safety. In a victim impact statement, one of the former Erewash MP’s staff members said she changed her route in and out and also where she parked since the “sinister” incident. And just days after he committed this offence, the defendant daubed derogatory messages about church members outside their place of worship in the town.
Adrian Maltby
(Image: Derbyshire Police)
Jailing him for 23 months, Judge Mark Watson said: “You followed Maggie Throup and three members of her staff from the office to a car park and you were close enough to them for them to feel concern for their safety. You told them you now knew where they parked their cars and that caused them considerable alarm.
“When they left in their vehicles you stood there pretending to film them and again that caused them to change their behaviour and their routes as a result of what you did to them. This was an MP and I am satisfied you deliberately targeted her office.”
Maltby, of Stratford Street and formerly of Milford Drive, pleaded guilty to breaching the terms of a criminal behaviour order and a religiously-aggravated public order offence.
As well as the jail term, Judge Watson handed the defendant a fresh five-year criminal behaviour order banning him from certain parts of Ilkeston town centre as defined by a map and from contacting anyone at the church or going there.
March
Unlicensed, uninsured, hit-and-run driver Fation Koldashi, who ploughed over Grant Sturgess and dragged him 12 metres down the street killing him, was jailed for two years and three months. The 30-year-old, of Dorset Street, Chaddesden, then drove off and went on the run for four days before handing himself in.
At the time, the victim was in the road having suffered a panic attack after earlier becoming visibly upset when talking about the tragic death of his daughter, Eva, who was almost three when she passed away in 2019.
While at least six other cars swerved or slowed down to avoid the much-loved 31-year-old, Koldashi drove over him and caused his death from head injuries. And in a hugely moving victim impact statement, Sophie Shelley, Mr Sturgess’s partner said: “My future has been stolen, my past tainted and my present is unbearable. Our daughter is aged just five and she now has to go through life without her daddy. Mia misses her daddy every day and still cries that she will never see him again.”
Fation Koldashi killed Grant Sturgess
(Image: Derbyshire Police)
Mr Sturgess died after he was struck at the junction of Nottingham Road and Pentagon Island, close to Derbyshire County Cricket Club’s ground, at around 8pm on Sunday, November 12, 2023. Koldashi initially denied the more serious offences but later pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving, causing death while unlicensed, failing to stop following an accident and failing to report an accident.
Jailing Koldashi, Judge William Harbage KC said: “How anyone could fail to stop after being involved in that sort of collision is beyond comprehension.”
April
A seven-strong robbery gang from Derby seized an estimated £285,000 in precious stones when they carried out “a professional, organised and violent” jewellery heist. A court heard how during it, the 69-year-old victim was felled with a savage “haymaker” punch, had liquid sprayed in his eyes and was cut to the face with a knife.
The man, who has run the business for 30 years, suffered a fractured skull, bleeds to the brain and was uninsured for his huge financial loss.
The seven-strong robbery gang from Derby
(Image: Metropolitan Police Service)
In a victim impact statement, he said: “I think I am going to call it a day selling jewellery. I now think it is too dangerous.” The heist took place at a jewellery shop called Simply Gold, in The Heathway, Dagenham, at around 4.30pm on February 7, last year. Each of the group pleaded guilty to a range of charges including conspiracy to rob and inflicting grievous bodily harm.
- Daniel Feraru, 47, of Stanton Street, was jailed for 13 years and nine months.
- Florin Lucaci, 24, of Havelock Road, was imprisoned for 13 years and three months.
- Vasile Cretu, 35, of Princes Street, was sent to custody for 11 years and eight months.
- Dragos Dobrin, 35, of Harriet Street, was jailed for eight years and eight months.
- Catalin Ciuraru, 33, of Meynell Street, was imprisoned for 14 years and six months.
- Ionut Stoican, 25, of Harrington Street, was sent into custody for eight years.
- Mariannich Ungureanu, 30 of Harrington Street, was jailed for seven years and three months.
May
Callous thief Prajne Sarbanovic deliberately targeted very elderly women during a campaign of pickpocketing across three counties. The 31-year-old, of Normanton, lurked in charity shops to lift purses from the bags of her victims, two of whom were aged 90, and also looked over their shoulders to see them enter their PIN numbers before using the stolen cards to withdraw cash.
Over a six-month period, the defendant travelled between Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Leicestershire patrolling the high streets of town seeking out lone women to steal from. Jailing her for two years and eight months, Recorder Adrian Reynolds said: “This was thought out, planned, determined, cunning, offending. You were going from town to town selecting not just elderly but, in some cases, very elderly individuals.
Prajne Sarbanovic, aged 31, of Goodale Street, Normanton
(Image: Derbyshire Police)
“You cannot behave on the scale you have and expect any mercy from the courts. My thoughts are with the people you have victimised for months.”
The offences happened between May and October, 2023 and Sarbonovic, of Goodale Street, pleaded guilty to 19 counts of either theft or fraud in relation to the pickpocketing campaign and asked for two other victims, both targeted in Oadby, Leicestershire, to be taken into consideration.
June
Career burglar Raymond Abbott Moore was jailed after his DNA was found on a jewellery box stolen from a Derby home. The 35-year-old was also captured on CCTV breaking into a property in the California area of the city and leaving the scene less than 15 minutes later.
He burgled a house in Etwall Road, Mickleover on September 18 and stole jewellery, a jewellery box, cash, and bank cards. Less than two weeks later, on September 27, the defendant broke into a flat in Drewry Court in broad daylight. This time he stole a brand-new iPhone, a wedding ring and other jewellery, Apple AirPods, and a wallet containing loyalty cards.
He was caught on CCTV entering and leaving the property with pockets stuffed full of stolen goods. Moore, of Becket Street, Derby was arrested on October 26 and charged and remanded to appear at court the next day.
Raymond Abott Moore was jailed in May
(Image: Derbyshire police)
Magistrates further remanded him into prison custody. He had initially refused to enter a plea, but after forensics put him at the scene of the crime in Etwall Road he pleaded guilty to all offences – including a burglary in Park Farm Drive, Allestree on September 15, where he had stolen a wallet containing the equivalent of £1,400 in cash and pre-loaded bank card.
He was sentenced at Derby Crown Court on Thursday, May 16 where he was handed a three-year prison sentence. Detective Sergeant, Steph Hopkins, the officer in the case said: “Having your home invaded by a burglar is one of the most intrusive things that can happen to a person, this safe place should remain just that.
“The residents of Derby are now that little bit safer, with Abbott Moore behind bars.”
July
Stalker Graham Rankin cut eye holes in the shed at the bottom of his ex-partner’s garden so he could watch her. The jilted 55-year-old also poured petrol over himself and threatened to take his own life unless she took him back.
After being arrested and bailed on those offences, days later, the defendant torched her car as it stood outside her address. And in a victim impact statement the woman told how she has had to leave her job working in a social club as she was so afraid of what the defendant might do.
Graham Rankin has been jailed
(Image: Derbyshire Police)
Rankin, of Garden Crescent, South Normanton, pleaded guilty to stalking and arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. Judge Shaun Smith KC jailed the defendant for two years and eight months and handed him a lifetime restraining order not to contact the victim or go to any address he knows she is living or working at.
August
Married Ilkeston scout leader Jonathan Craven was caught with hundreds of sick child abuse images. Police found more than 150 of the most serious category A indecent images, which showed children as young as three being sexually assaulted or raped, when they seized devices from the 44-year-old.
The defendant also got sexual gratification from watching extreme pornographic images involving humans engaged in sexual encounters with dogs, which were also discovered by detectives.
He lost his role in the scouts, his marriage, his previous good character and has moved from the town to Derby. Handing him a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, Recorder Stuart Sprawson said: “It is sad that someone at the age of 44, who has no previous convictions, finds himself in front of the courts like this and I am disappointed to hear your marriage has come to an end as a consequence of this.”
(Image: Reach Plc)
Craven, of London Road, Alvaston, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs of children between May 1, 2019 and February 16, 2022 and one count of possession of extreme pornographic images.
As part of the suspended sentence, the judge ordered the defendant to attend 20 rehabilitation sessions with the probation service and to carry out 100 hours unpaid work. He also placed him on the sex offender register for 10 years and handed him a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
In a statement released after sentence, a spokesman for Scouts said: “”We are aware of the case involving Jonathan Craven. Ensuring young people’s safety is our top priority and there is no place in Scouts for anyone who behaves in this way.
“Craven was suspended as soon as we were made aware of the investigation and permanently excluded in November 2023. He will never be allowed to volunteer with us again.”
September
Drink-driver Lucy Pegler killed her on-off footballer boyfriend when she lost control of her car and crashed into a shop front in Bakewell. The 22-year-old had downed a number of drinks in a short space of time before giving Kyle Shimwell a lift home.
As they drove, the 21-year-old victim was “hanging out of the window” of the front passenger seat “in good spirits” having been out celebrating the news he’d been handed his gas engineers certificate. But the Fiat 500 being driven by the defendant, who was more than twice the drink-drive limit, mounted a kerb and crashed into a bridal store.
Jailing her for four-and-a-half years, Judge Jonathan Straw said: “In two pubs you made a determined effort to get drunk, consuming pints from the bar and taking gulps from the glasses of others and all the time you intended to drive home. You knew you were over the limit, you knew you were incapable of driving.
Lucy Pegler, 22, of East Bank, Winster
(Image: Derbyshire Police)
“You left the road at relatively low speed but you left the road because you were so drunk and you could not steer around the corner in front of you. All of this could have been avoided.
“You could have walked home, you could have got a taxi home, there were a whole host of other things you could have done that did not involve getting in a car when you were as drunk as you were.”
Mr Shimwell, who played football for Bakewell Town, died in the collision in the early hours of January 7, 2023, when a Fiat 500 being driven by Pegler was travelling along King Street, in the town, left the carriageway and collided with the front of a shop.
The defendant, of East Bank, Winster, pleaded guilty to causing death through careless driving and while unfit through drink.
October
Alcohol-dependent Richard Kavanagh, of Derby, who reached the age of 36 without ever troubling the police, robbed the same Nottingham newsagents twice in three days. On both occasions, the masked defendant threatened to stab the lone worker in the MSR store in Radcliffe Road, West Bridgford, opposite the Trent Bridge Inn.
Two days after those robberies he entered the same shop a third time but was recognised by one of his victims who alerted a customer and local councillor who followed him until the police arrived.
Richard Kavanagh robbed the same newsagents twice in three days
(Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Jailing the defendant, of Palmerston Street, Normanton, for two-and-a-half years, Recorder Adrian Reynolds said: “These people offer a service to the public and what you did, particularly to the second victim when you produced a weapon, was not just steal his employer’s money but you stole his peace of mind which is something altogether more precious.
“For a considerable amount of time after, he was looking over his shoulder and you cannot treat people like that. Unusually you have no previous convictions and you are a man in his mid-to-late 30s not some hot-headed teenager.”
The robberies took place on August 10 and 13, 2022, at the MSR close to Nottingham Forest’s City Ground. Kavanagh, of Palmerston Street, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and possession of an offensive weapon. He was handed just over £100 during the two incidents.
November
Drink-driver Jane Hunter-Priestlry, killed an elderly couple in a horror smash just yards from her Chaddesden home had been drinking vodka before choosing to get behind the wheel of her car. The 63-year-old “came out of nowhere” onto Nottingham Road from Highfield Lane and struck the side of a Jaguar being driven by William Line whose wife Christine was in the front passenger seat.
Both victims, who were in their 80s and who had been together for 60 years, were killed from the injuries they sustained. A blood test taken more than four hours after the collision showed the defendant, of Highfield Lane, Chaddesden, was over the drink-drive limit and told police she “may have hit the accelerator rather than the brake” when she caused the double death crash at 39mph in a 30mph limit.
(Image: Derbyshire Police)
Jailing her for eight years, Judge Jonathan Straw said: “(You) had discovered that (your) husband had returned from a holiday without (you) and after a long period of marriage was leaving (you) to set up a new home with another partner. (You) began drinking to excess and having drunk vodka at home decided to get into a car and drive on a public road when a whole host of alternatives were available to you.
“You took comfort in the bottle and you were so intoxicated you were incapable of exercising any real control of your vehicle. As a consequence of your decision to drive, William and Christine were killed and many other lives, including your own, have been indelibly affected.”
Officers were called to reports of a collision just after 2pm on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. Mr and Mrs Line, of Vere Close, Willington, had been to a garden centre and were on their way home sitting in stationary traffic when their Jaguar was hit from the side by Hunter-Priestley’s Ford.
Hunter-Priestley pleaded guilty to two counts of causing the deaths of Mr and Mrs Line, who lived in Vere Close, Willington, through dangerous driving. She had no previous convictions and has held a clean licence since 1985. As well as the jail term, she was disqualified from driving for 15 years.
December
Two sisters carried out a spree of break-ins at staff rooms in Derby city centre to steal personal items, cash and bank cards. Pregnant mum-of-seven Tabita Paun and her younger sibling Sara Paun also ransacked a flat above The Hideout in the Market Place and stole 50 rings belonging to the woman who lived there.
One of them, along with a bracelet, belonged to her late grandmother and had been passed down to the broken-hearted victim when she died. And while 21-year-old Sarah Paun is still on the run from the police, her older sister faces giving birth to her eight child behind bars.
(Image: Derbyshire Police)
Jailing the 31-year-old for two years and eight months, Judge Shaun Smith KC said: “There was absolutely no doubt a significant degree of planning and organisation went into this.
“You target commercial premises in order to steal not items from the shelves but from the private areas of the staff who worked there.
“This caused a great deal of inconvenience but you also ransacked a flat where you tipped our ring boxes and drawers of clothes and stole something in the region of 50 rings and other jewellery including one ring and bracelet which held a great deal of sentimental value to the victim.”
The main set of offences took place over a matter of days in early July, 2022 at staff rooms at the Plant Cafe and Bar in Sadler Gate; Chopstix in St Peter’s Street; another shop in the city centre and then, a year later while both were on bail, a Heron Foods store in Derby.
Tabita Paun, of Cromwell Terrace, Chatham, Kent, pleaded guilty to five counts of burglary and has two previous convictions for three offences. Sara Paun, of Dogpool Lane, Birmingham, is still being sought by the police, the hearing was told.