A THUG threatened to send police officers out of a home “in a body bag” during a home stand off.

In September this year, police received a worried phone call from residents of Rohstoff Close, Laindon, saying a couple in their house were having a huge row, with the man saying he was going to stab someone.

The man, Christopher Stephens, had been drinking during the day with his partner, and a heated row had broken out, believed to be over food.

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Christopher Stephens

He shouted that if anyone came into the house they would “be coming out in a body bag, or I’m coming out in a body bag”.

The police, armed with Tasers, kicked in the bedroom door and arrested Stephens at the scene.

He was sentenced to 31 months in prison for threats to kill and nine months for ABH, to run concurrently.

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A serial burglar has been jailed for smashing his way into a house and stealing jewellery whilst a woman slept.

Jake Rush has admitted to smashing a woman’s patio window in Basildon and brazenly going through her belongings, all while she was asleep upstairs.

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Jake Rush

Rush, of Clay Hill Road, Basildon, received for two years and four months in jail for burglary.

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A drug dealer caught with cocaine and more than £1,000 in cash was jailed for nearly three years.

Officers from Essex Police's South Operation Raptor team were patrolling in Ravenscourt Drive, Vange on September 9 this year when they became suspicious of a van driven by 50-year-old Daren Ellis. 

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Jailed - Daren Ellis

The officers watched the driver of the van being involved in two suspected drug deals.

As they approached, Ellis, who was in the driver’s seat, attempted to drive off.

But the vehicle was eventually boxed in by officers and they searched Ellis and the van.

Ellis, of Argent Street, Grays, was arrested, charged and admitted possession with intent to supply a Class A drug.

He was jailed for 32 months at Basildon Crown Court.

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A BUNGLING burglar who was caught after leaving a screwdriver behind at the scene of his crime was jailed for five and-a-half years.

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Bungling - Frankie Gavin

Frankie Gavin’s DNA was discovered on the tool after a break-in at an address in Great Gregorie, Basildon.

A Mercedes S Class was stolen from the property whilst the owners were on holiday.

The vehicle was spotted the following day parked next to a Ford Fiesta at a Tesco Extra supermarket, in Pitsea.

Both cars drove off when police arrived and a high speed pursuit ensued.

The Fiesta was later found dumped at Basildon bus station and Gavin, of no fixed address, was arrested after being spotted fleeing the scene.

Gavin admitted burglaries, two charges of theft in relation to the cars and one of dangerous driving when he appeared at Basildon Crown Court.

The 30-year-old was jailed for four-and-a-half years for the offences, and a suspended sentence was activated, adding an extra year to his overall jail term.

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A teenage drug dealer was jailed after he was caught red handed in the middle of a deal in Basildon.

Shaun Richards was caught by Essex Police's Operation Raptor team in Basildon over the summer during a drug deal in a parked car.

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Jailed - Shaun Richards

The 19-year-old was seated in the back of a blue Mazda Demio in a communal car park off Long Riding at around 9.15am on June 28.

The Op Raptor officers had been carrying out extra patrols in the town to act as a deterrent to drug crimes in the area.

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A driver who crashed into a cyclist in Canvey while driving over double the speed limit was jailed for more than three years.

Gavin Featherstone, 26, was driving on Canvey Road at 6.10am on September 15, 2017, when his car struck Petru Barticel, who had been travelling home on his bike from work.

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Jailed - Gavin Featherstone

Featherstone had been driving in excess of 70 mph, when the speed limit on the road was 30mph.

Featherstone, of Downham Road, Canvey, appeared at Basildon Crown Court and was jailed for 38 months, and was banned from driving for four years and seven months and was ordered to take an extended test.

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Four crooks were jailed after they were caught defrauding seven elderly “customers” out of thousands of pounds.

The men, acting as tree surgeons across Benfleet, Hullbridge, and Southend, drove or walked the victims to the bank, where they were ordered to tell staff they wanted to withdraw cash for a present.

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Jailed - James Cook and Marc Orsbourn

The four were among seven initially arrested after five reports were made to Essex Police between November 9 and 16, 2017.

The victims were aged between 79 and 95.

Keegan Waters, 19, the youngest of the group, of Hinguar Street, Shoebury, was convicted of three counts of fraud and was fined and ordered to complete 150 hours unpaid work.

James Cook, 31, of no fixed address, was handed 12 months for two counts of fraud, and also received 18 months in jail to run consecutively for two counts of burglary, after he stole a TV on Caster Drive, Pitsea, in June, and committed another burglary on York Road, Southend, in August.

Jake Rush, 26, of Clay Hill Road, Basildon, was found not guilty of one count of fraud by false representation while two men were also released without charge.

Marc Orsbourn, 40, of The Terrace, in Gravesend, received 18 months for two counts of fraud by false representation, and Mark Thwaites, 40, of Childs Crescent, Swanscombe, received five years for five counts of fraud by false representation.

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A prolific burglar who stole cash, phones, food and bikes from across south Essex has been jailed.

Robert Brindley went of a thieving spree in Wickford, Basildon and Southend from February to June this year.

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Jailed - Robert Brindley

He admitted 20 counts of burglary, attempted burglary and theft when he appeared at Basildon Crown Court.

He was sentenced to three years for home burglaries, two years for the attempted burglaries and six months for non-home burglaries to run concurrently.