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A murderer was among those jailed in Surrey in August. A number of people across the county were put in jail for a range of crimes.
One case included a rapist and murderer who killed his ex-partner by strangling her. He been sentenced to a minimum of 28 years in prison.
Other criminals included a group of burglars who committed crimes across the county. SurreyLive rounded up those were jailed last month.
Murderer and rapist jailed
Rapist and murderer James Cartwright has been sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on August 8 to a minimum of 28 years in prison. He was found guilty of raping and killing his ex-partner Samantha Mickleburgh, 54.
The 61-year-old, from Axminster in Devon, was convicted following a three-and-a-half-week trial. At sentencing, he was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 28 years for her murder and nine years for rape to run concurrently.
He was found not guilty of a third charge of controlling and coercive behaviour. The jury heard how Samantha, also from Axminster in Devon, had accompanied him to the hotel for his 60th birthday, as she had promised him she would and she believed he had nobody else to go with.
Samantha, who had ended the relationship and was looking to move on with her life after this final compassionate act, was instead raped and strangled by Cartwright in the early hours of April 14, 2024 Police were first alerted when Cartwright himself rang 999 and claimed that he had woken up to Samantha dead in the room.
He claimed to responding paramedics and police officers that she had fallen over at some point in the night implying that might be the cause of death, however a subsequent forensic post-mortem discovered that Samantha had sustained several injuries including a fractured skull and signs of strangulation of her neck.
Cartwright was subsequently arrested for murder on April 19, 2024. Throughout the investigation and trial, Cartwright maintained his innocence, despite not providing any other explanation for Samantha's fatal injuries.
During the trial the jury also heard how he had a history of obsessive behaviour towards Samantha and when she had ended the relationship his behaviour took on an even more frightening turn, including turning up at her house uninvited and mowing her lawn, sitting outside the house for extended periods of time and bombarding her with phone calls and messages.
Cocaine dealer jailed
Egli Hasaj, 25, was one of the main players in an organised crime group involved in dealing cocaine across East Surrey. He has been sent to prison on July 28 for 45 months after appearing at Guildford Crown Court.
The investigation began on May 30, 2024 after police conducted a warrant under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act at the Marquis of Granby Public House in Redhill. The warrant was conducted following information that the drug supply network was operating and working within the pub.
During a search of the premises, approximately 30 individual wrapped bags of cocaine were located. Fingerprints taken from a number of the bags were found to match Hasaj's DNA.
Officers were on patrol in Redhill town centre on July 16, 2024, when they saw Hasaj enter the Coral Bookmakers, and he was detained. Hasaj was found in possession of £956.10 and a mobile phone which was seized.
He was arrested, charged and bailed following court on July 17, 2024 for the offences of possession of criminal property and working while disqualified through immigration status.
An examination of the mobile phone seized from Hasaj showed that his role was to set up and manage the lower level drug runners within the network, and to keep track of the cash they generated and replenish their cocaine supplies when they were running low. Evidence from Hasaj's phone also showed that he was handling the bulk sale of cocaine to other dealers and not just the end users.
Burglars jailed
Four men pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit burglary and were each sentenced to five years and seven months at Kingston Crown Court on August 18.
The four who pleaded guilty are Daniel Guzman, 36, Nelson Rojas, 54, Pablo Rogas-Romero, 39, and Victor Alfredo Higuchi Campos, 49. From December 17, 2024 to January 7, 2025, 13 properties were targeted across Cambridge, Elmbridge, Runnymede, London and Milton Keynes.
Jewellery and sentimental items with a combined total of £54,659 in cash was taken, along with a quantity of foreign currency. With New Year's Eve approaching, the group broke into an address in Runnymede, before heading into the London area.
On January 17, after breaking through a first-floor window and stealing more jewellery at an address in Milton Keynes, the OCG were heading back to an Airbnb in a black Mercedes-Benz that they were renting in Luton when they were stopped and arrested by Bedfordshire Police, who discovered the items of jewellery in the vehicle.
Suitcases belonging to the four members were found at the Airbnb which contained a significant number of stolen items. A signal jammer and a portable diamond and gem tester were also found at the address.
Both the Mercedes-Benz and a silver Vauxhall were linked to the offences. Communications data collectively placed the four at each of the addresses where the offences were committed, as well as CCTV footage of the vehicles at petrol stations along their routes.
One of the necklaces stolen had the name 'Gemma' on it, which one of the property owners was able to positively identify. Around half of the stolen items have been reunited with their owners.
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