IN THE COURTS
A ROUND-UP of some of the recent cases before Portsmouth magistrates.
Abigail Crowhurst, 31, of Meyrick Road, Portsmouth, admitted dishonestly failing to notify Portsmouth City Council of a change in circumstance affecting her housing benefit. Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order with 200 hours' unpaid work.
She must pay a £60 surcharge and £85 costs.
Martin Alden, 46, of Kingston Road, Portsmouth, admitted burgling a property in Fawcett Road, Southsea, stealing tattoo ink on April 16.
Magistrates imposed a two-year community order with 19 sessions of a thinking skills programme and 15 days’ rehabilitation activities. Alden must complete 150 hours' unpaid work. He must pay £120 compensation, a £90 surcharge and £85 costs.
He also admitted failing to comply with sex offenders' registration requirements on April 3, 2019, by completing his yearly registration 21 days late.
Nicolae-Alexandrv Budencea, 32, of Park Avenue, Barking in Essex, admitted jointly stealing £1,339 worth of alcohol from Tesco in Fratton Way on September 30.
He also admitted two charges of jointly stealing alcohol worth a combined £1,758 at Tesco in Fratton Way and in Eastbourne.
Magistrates imposed a 20-week jail term sentence as he was part of a 'professional gang'.
He must pay £300 compensation, a £128 victim surcharge and £85 costs.
Albert Mihai, 32, of Park Avenue, Barking, admitted the same charges as Budencea, above, and was handed a 30-week jail term suspended for a year.
He must pay £300 compensation, a £128 victim surcharge and £85 costs.
Charlotte Walsh, 33, of no fixed address, admitted damaging the window on a fire exit at Elmleigh in Havant on November 7 last year. Magistrates fined her £50 with a £34 surcharge. She was detained in court but this was deemed served as she was held in custody.
Daniel Grainger, 30, of Highwood Lawn, Warren Park, admitted assault by beating on July 26 last year and damaging a door at Co-op in Havant Road.
Magistrates imposed
£200 compensation for the damage but no separate penalty for the assault.
Farouk Alaka, 26, of Brodrick Grove, London, admitted cannabis drugdriving in West Street, Fareham, on February 11.
He was fined £484 with a £48 surcharge and £85 costs. He was banned from driving for a year.