These are faces of 23 of the most notorious offenders whose crimes across Northamptonshire saw them jailed during February 2023. They include a murderer, a Northampton university student who assaulted a woman close to Weston Favell Police Station, and a 19-year-old drug dealer who used kids to distribute drugs on the streets of Rushden…
17. Luke Symmonds
Symonds was sentenced to seven years after admitting subjecting a woman to stalking and intimidation and being found guilty of sexual assault.
The 27-year-old, of Mushroom Field Road, Northampton, was accused of bombarding his victim with around 7,500 harassing and threatening messages in the space of three months. Matthew Rowcliffe, prosecuting, also said Symmonds barged through the door of his victim’s flat and grabbed her arm in an attempt to stop her calling the police. He was released on bail but ignored conditions telling him not to contact her, threatening to burn down her house with her inside.
Police did not respond to her calls until two days later — during which time Symmonds followed the victim into Lings Wood Nature Reserve and sexually assaulted her.
Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane said: “If the police had acted sooner, the events in Lings Wood may never have happened.” Photo: Northamptonshire Police
18. Connor Walsh
The 19-year-old was jailed for four-and-a-half years after admitting running a drugs line using runaway kids to supply heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Rushden between March and September last year. Walsh, previously of Queen Street in the town, helped traffic a 15-year-old London boy from and a 17-year-old boy from Essex – who were both reported missing.
He was arrested leaving a property in Higham Ferrers where police found two young girls and a quantity of drugs. Photo: Northamptonshire Police
19. Bradley Coulson
Coulson, 22, was jailed ofr four years — plus a further five on licence — after admitting grooming and having sex with a child in Northampton.
Police went to Coulson’s house after the girl’s parents reported her missing and found them in bed together at 4am. Northampton Crown Court heard that the pair met up again after Coulson’s arrest and there was a suggestion they engaged in further sexual activity. Photo: Northamptonshire Police
20. Ryan John Smith
The 29-year-old from Daventry was sentenced to 10 years after a jury took just 40 minutes to convict him of sexually assaulting a woman after a night out in June last year, throwing her to the floor and repeatedly punching and sexually assaulting her as she screamed for him to stop. Photo: Northamptonshire Police