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More than 30 people were jailed across Wales between March 23 and 29 for offences ranging from murder to shoplifting. Here is a round-up of the most notable cases.
Murder
Tristan Roberts, 18, of Prestatyn, has been sentenced to life with a minimum of 22 and a half years after pleading guilty to murdering his mother, Angela Shellis, 45. Roberts held her captive at home before carrying out a fatal hammer attack at Morfa Nature Park in October 2025.
Sexual offences
Mark Anthony Hawkes, 39, already serving nine years for sexually abusing a young girl, has been sentenced to a further 16 years at Swansea Crown Court after being convicted of raping and sexually assaulting a boy under 13 in the Neath Port Talbot area during the mid-2000s. He will be a registered sex offender for life.
Stefan Dobandi, 20, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to 10 years at Mold Crown Court for raping two teenage girls as they slept in Flintshire between May and June last year. He also admitted taking indecent images of a child. He later confessed to one victim via voice messages.
Nicholas Adams, 54, from Swansea, was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison at Cardiff Crown Court after being found guilty of multiple counts of indecent assault and serious sexual offences against a child under 10. The abuse occurred when Adams was a teenager. He continues to deny the offences.
Thomas Serpell, 28, of Aberdare, was jailed for 12 months at Cardiff Crown Court after pleading guilty to sexual communication with a child. Serpell sent disturbing sexual messages to a nine-year-old boy via text, later instructing the child to delete them. He was also given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Drug supply
Craig Lloyd, 38, from Bangor, has been sentenced to seven years and one month at Caernarfon Crown Court after admitting two counts of possession with intent to supply cocaine. Officers spotted him riding an illegal electric motorcycle, and subsequent searches uncovered over £250,000 worth of cocaine in his car.
Kieren Jones, 28, from Haverfordwest, was jailed for four and a half years at Swansea Crown Court after admitting drug supply offences. He was found hiding in a train toilet at Carmarthen station while on licence from a previous trafficking sentence, with heroin, Pregabalin tablets, and £5,500 in cash.
Kieran Rogers, 34, of Newport, was jailed for three years and nine months after pleading guilty to supplying cocaine and cannabis. He was linked to drug dealing through messages found on a phone seized from another suspect during a policing operation in Ringland. Officers later recovered over £2,400 in cash from his home.
Lee Whitfield, 49, of Roath, Cardiff, has been jailed for three years and three months after admitting possession with intent to supply crack cocaine. Undercover officers spotted him carrying out suspected drug deals during plain-clothes patrols. A search of his property uncovered crack cocaine, digital scales, and a phone linked to a drugs line.
Anis Bardich, 28, of Adamsdown, Cardiff, was jailed for three years after being caught dealing heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Cathays. Officers observed him carrying out multiple drug deals and found 109 wraps of class A drugs worth £1,090, along with a burner phone used to send over 1,300 bulk texts advertising drugs. He pleaded guilty at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.
Lucas Byrne, 22, from Barry, was sentenced to three years at Cardiff Crown Court for supplying cocaine through a drugs line known as LZ. Byrne switched sim cards between handsets to avoid detection and sent bulk texts to up to 50 contacts. He had a previous conviction for the same offence.
Luke Cable, 25, of Brynmawr, was jailed for three years at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court after being found with a rock of cocaine worth up to £6,120. His own father called police over concerns about his behaviour. Cable, who had previous convictions for drug supply, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a class A drug.
Rachel Butcher, 45, from Cardiff, was jailed for 30 months after accidentally sending a mass text promoting cocaine sales to a police officer. She admitted being concerned in the supply of class A drugs. Despite earning close to £50,000, a proceeds of crime hearing ordered her to pay just £1.
Muhammed Abdullah, 18, was sentenced to 18 months in a young offender institution after pleading guilty to supplying cocaine and heroin on the streets of Newport. He began dealing at 17, was caught twice in quick succession, and phone evidence revealed drug-related messages and videos on his device.
Violence and domestic abuse
Craig Bray, 28, was sentenced to nearly two years and seven months in prison after assaulting his ex-partner, bombarding her with around 140 threatening phone calls, and burgling a Newport care home by posing as a visitor. Bray pleaded guilty to assault, harassment, and burglary at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.
David Williams, 41, of Tredegar, was jailed for 21 months after punching footballer Laura Banks outside her home, fracturing her jaw in two places. Williams drove to her address after overhearing a phone call and struck her to the face, requiring her to undergo five hours of surgery. He was also given a five-year restraining order.
Daniel Batstone, 29, from Pentre, has been jailed for 18 months after admitting to controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm against a woman over a three-year period. His violence included kicking the victim while she was pregnant. He was sentenced at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.
Daniel Jenkins, 33, from Blackwood, was jailed for 17 months after admitting strangling a woman in the town last September. Jenkins, who had a significant record for violence, also breached a suspended sentence. He was sentenced at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court and made subject to a three-year restraining order.
Jason Talbot, 37, from Splott, Cardiff, was jailed for 10 months after punching his partner in the face, headbutting her and pushing her to the floor, leaving her with a broken nose, black eye and concussion. Talbot had previously harassed the same victim by sending abusive messages via bank transactions. He pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Cardiff Crown Court.
Alex Yohanna, 32, from Carmarthenshire, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for breaching two restraining orders protecting former partners. He used social media to post abusive comments about both women, violating the orders, one just weeks after it was imposed. The judge warned him to leave the women alone or face longer sentences.
Robbery
Kurtis John James, 18, was sentenced to 38 months in a young offenders institution after pleading guilty to robbery. James kicked and stamped on a 17-year-old victim in Port Talbot town centre before stealing his bank card and demanding his PIN. A judge described the assault as a “merciless beating.”
Dangerous driving
Mark Ball, 46, struck and killed 84-year-old Charles Sully in a hit-and-run in Newport, leaving him to die in the road. Ball, an uninsured learner driver with 39 previous convictions, fled the scene and falsely blamed his father for being behind the wheel. He was jailed for 30 months at Cardiff Crown Court.
Brandon Davidson, 25, from Tonypandy, was jailed for two years at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court after assaulting a man outside Royal Glamorgan Hospital, threatening to stab the victim via phone, and leading police on a dangerous high-speed chase while disqualified from driving. He admitted six offences and was also banned from driving for two years.
Kyle Holt, 26, from Wrexham, has been jailed for 12 months at Mold Crown Court after leading police on a 14-minute chase through north-east Wales, reaching speeds of 98mph while disqualified from driving. He admitted dangerous driving, driving without insurance, whilst disqualified, failing to stop, and drug driving.
Burglary and theft
Robert Devney, 53, of no fixed abode, burgled a home on Drinkwater Gardens, Newport, stealing a £1,500 gold necklace and bank cards he used to buy tobacco and brown sauce. CCTV and fingerprint evidence led to his arrest. With 29 previous convictions, he was jailed for 876 days at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.
Shanice Roderick, 21, from Ely, Cardiff, was sentenced to 14 months in prison at Cardiff Crown Court after admitting to burgling a Riverside home twice in one day, stealing £2,500 worth of goods, shoplifting from John Lewis, and fraudulently spending £273 on stolen bank cards to fund her drug addiction.
Adam Waters, 39, of Pontypool, was sentenced to 19 months in prison at Cardiff Crown Court after admitting to burgling a block of flats at Glanwern House and stealing a Samsung tablet. The break-in occurred between January 25 and 28, 2025. Waters had previous convictions for similar offences.
Richard Calvert, 46, of no fixed abode, was jailed for 40 weeks after admitting seven shoplifting offences and two breaches of a restraining order banning him from all retail premises in England and Wales. He repeatedly targeted food shops across Flintshire between September 2025 and February 2026, hiding items in his jacket.
Nicky Blackwell, 35, of Maesteg, was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to seven thefts, two frauds and three non-dwelling burglaries. Over seven months, he stole more than £1,500 worth of goods from shops including Asda, Tesco and Filco across the Maesteg area.
Abdi Faatax, 41, from St Mellons, Cardiff, was jailed for 24 weeks after being convicted of six thefts from Boots on Countisbury Avenue. He was caught after fleeing from two PCSOs who found him hiding in trees near Oakfield Primary School. He also received a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order.
Darren Williams, 54, from Uplands, Swansea, was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison after being caught on CCTV smashing a car window on Walter Road and stealing items from inside. He returned to the vehicle just an hour later to try again. Williams pleaded guilty to theft from a motor vehicle and criminal damage.
Arson and criminal damage
Jack Gornall, 18, has been sentenced to four years in a Young Offender Institution after admitting to arson, threatening a person with a knife, sending malicious communications, assault, and shoplifting. Gornall set fire to his bedroom in shared accommodation in Carmarthen while three others were inside, causing £130,000 in damage. He also threatened car occupants with a kitchen knife in Llandysul.
Threats and harassment
Jordan Davies, 24, of Pwllheli, was sentenced to 28 months in prison at Caernarfon Crown Court after admitting threatening to share an intimate image of a woman and sending abusive messages, including a threat to stab her. Davies, who has previous convictions for similar offences, was also given a 10-year restraining order.
Breach of court orders
Jordanna Wheeler, 28, from Swansea, was jailed after repeatedly breaching a suspended sentence she received for beating her pet dog to death with a saucepan. She broke her curfew six times, missed rehabilitation sessions, and failed to attend probation appointments. A judge activated 12 months of her original 16-month suspended sentence.
All of the cases featured in this round-up have been reported individually by Wales Updates. Click the name of each defendant to read the full story.
