Locked up in Sussex 2025: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August

By Gbam Godwin On Dec 30, 2025

Locked up in Sussex 2025: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August.

Judges, juries, and magistrates in Sussex had another busy year. Here’s a look at some of the criminals imprisoned during the summer of 2025.

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All of the information below is sourced from Sussex Police or our reporters who attended court in person.

1. Locked up in Sussex 2025: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August

We look at some of the criminals incarcerated during the summer of 2025.

A disqualified driver was stopped on the A23 and found to be in possession of cocaine and cannabis. Bilal Abdullah, 27, was stopped by officers from the Specialist Enforcement Unit. Inside a Citroen Berlingo van they found the drugs, a bladed article, a false document, and £935 in cash was seized. Abdullah, of no fixed address, appeared for sentence at Lewes Crown Court on May 19 and admitted possessing both class A and B drugs with intent to supply, possession of a bladed article, driving while disqualified, acquiring, using or possessing criminal property, and possessing or controlling a false or improperly obtained identity document. He was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison. The court was told how SEU officers stopped the vehicle travelling southbound at Hickstead on November 26 last year. They had information to suggest the vehicle was linked to drug dealing. Abdullah was stopped and arrested in a layby. Following an investigation by the West Sussex Community Investigations team he was charged and appeared in court.

3. Locked up in Sussex 2025: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August

A disqualified driver was detained on the A23 and discovered to be in possession of cocaine and cannabis.

Bilal Abdullah, 27, was stopped by officers from the Specialist Enforcement Unit. The drugs were discovered inside a Citroen Berlingo van, together with a bladed object, a phoney document, and £935 in cash.

Abdullah, who has no fixed address, appeared for sentence at Lewes Crown Court on May 19 and admitted to possessing both class A and B drugs with intent to supply, possessing a bladed article, driving while disqualified, acquiring, using, or possessing criminal property, and possessing or controlling a false or improperly obtained identification document. He was sentenced to five and one-half years in prison.

The court heard how SEU officials stopped the vehicle heading southbound at Hickstead on November 26 last year. They obtained information that suggested the vehicle was involved in drug trade.

Abdullah was stopped and detained in a layby. He was charged and appeared in court following an investigation conducted by the West Sussex Community Investigations Team.

A 17-year-old boy who fatally stabbed a man in Hailsham can now be named after a judge lifted reporting restrictions following his sentencing for manslaughter. Rhys Hedges, 17, from Hellingly, was charged with the murder of 20-year-old Billy Ripley, who died after an altercation in August 2024. A jury at Lewes Crown Court found him not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter following a trial which concluded on March 28. The court heard that police were called to Vicarage Field in Hailsham at around 6.20pm on August 29, 2024, following reports of a man being stabbed. Billy was found lying in an alleyway near The Hailsham Club with a single stab wound to the chest. Despite the best efforts of paramedics and officers, he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses reported seeing the victim sitting on a bench in the town centre when Hedges approached. After a verbal exchange, the pair - who were known to each other - moved into the alleyway where the incident took place. CCTV footage showed an altercation between the two near the entrance to Hailsham Parish Church. Billy then staggered away, calling out he had been stabbed, before collapsing. The suspect fled the scene but was quickly identified and arrested at an address in Hailsham later that evening. He was subsequently charged and remanded in custody. On May 23, at Lewes Crown Court, Hedges was sentenced to eight years in prison minus time served.

4. Locked up in Sussex 2025: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August

A 17-year-old kid who fatally stabbed a man in Hailsham can now be identified after a court lifted reporting limitations following his manslaughter conviction.

Rhys Hedges, 17, of Hellingly, has been charged with the murder of 20-year-old Billy Ripley, who died following an argument in August 2024. After a trial that ended on March 28, a jury at Lewes Crown Court convicted him guilty of manslaughter rather than murder.

The court heard that police were summoned to Vicarage Field in Hailsham about 6.20 p.m. on 29 August 2024, after reports of a man being stabbed. Billy was discovered laying in an alleyway near The Hailsham Club, with a single stab wound to the chest.

Despite the greatest efforts of paramedics and officers, he was tragically declared dead on the site. Witnesses reported seeing the victim seated on a bench in the town centre as Hedges approached.

Following a verbal dispute, the pair, who knew each other, entered the alleyway where the event occurred. CCTV footage captured an altercation between the two near the entrance of Hailsham Parish Church.

Billy limped away, shouting out that he had been stabbed, before fainting. The suspect fled the scene, but was soon apprehended later that evening at a Hailsham address.

He was later prosecuted and remanded into jail. Hedges received an eight-year prison sentence minus time served on May 23 at Lewes Crown Court.