The country’s courts are in overdrive as more cases are being heard by judges in a bid to catch up for those delayed by the pandemic.
Many victims and families have been waiting even longer for justice as criminals in Bucks have been brought before the courts in 2022.
Here is a look back at 12 big crime stories to have happened in Bucks.
January: The Amir Shafique murder trial
In October 2020, Aylesbury-born Amir Shafique was brutally murdered in his hometown in what the judge described as an ‘utterly tragic case’.
Fifteen months later, in January this year, five men were jailed for his death with their sentences combing a total of 67 years.
Charlie Irwin and Nasim Khan were both given life sentences with minimum terms of 21 years and 20 years, whilst Mohammed Wasim, Ishmael Shah, and Bertie Turvey were given 10, nine, and seven years for manslaughter respectively.
During the two-month trial, the court heard how Shafique’s death came from an organised fight after the convicted men accused him of ‘snitching’ to the police for previous crimes the group had committed.
February: King behind bars
Adam King, who taught at Oakley Church of England Combined School, was sentenced to four years in prison after he assaulted a sleeping child.
The crime happened at the Kingswood Adventure Centre in Coisborough, South Yorkshire, in 2017.
King, in his role as a volunteer with Diabetes UK, sexually abused the child while they were away on a residential trip.
March: Kingpin is thrown in jail
In March this year, Mustafa Oustha was jailed for six years after the drug lord was caught making millions of pounds through cannabis factories in Bucks.
His illegal operations saw him buy expensive cars and properties across the globe, before he was caught out in October 2021.
The 39-year-old had been renting units under five different aliases to avoid being detected.
April: Lady in the Lake
The murder trial of the 1987 death of 26-year-old Shani Warren resulted in the unanimous conviction of kidnapper, rapist and killer Donald Robertson in 2022.
Ms Warren’s body was found on April 17, 1987, in Taplow Lake, days after she was reported missing.
A coroner’s report at the time of her death concluded that she had taken her own life, despite Ms Warren being found tied up and gagged when her body was discovered.
But after the case was reopened in 2018, new technological methods found Robertson’s DNA on fabric at the crime scene.
Robertson, who is now in his late 60s, was jailed in March 2011 for raping a teenager in 1987 the same year of Ms Warren’s death.
He is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence.
May: Rapist caught and jailed
A Chesham man was labelled a ‘dangerous offender’ after he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping a 17-year-old girl.
Mohammed Khan, who worked as a fast-food delivery driver, kidnapped and abused the girl in August 2021.
He grabbed the teenager from a street in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, while she was waiting for her stepdad to pick her up from an evening out.
June: Smiling during the mugshot
Two men from Princes Risborough were collectively sentenced to over five years in jail after they pleaded guilty to committing a terrifying robbery in the town.
Thomas Ayling and Adam Booth entered a Co-op store where they threatened staff with a hammer, went behind the counter and used the weapon to open the registers to steal money.
July: Justice after two years
July this year saw 34-year-old Christopher Mattin start a 10-and-a-half-year sentence for killing his girlfriend, Sarah Jacobs, in a car crash in Buckingham.
Mattin, who is from an area near Banbury, was drunk, on drugs, serving a driving ban, and had never even had a full licence when he lost control while driving at dangerous speeds along Stowe Avenue, near Buckingham, on May 10, 2020.
His driving was described as of that of a ‘lunatic’ and a ‘bat out of hell’, as it was revealed that Mattin was going at 91mph in a 30mph zone.
August: Stalker sexual assault
Six months after committing sexual assault, Andrew Custos was thrown in prison for four years in August.
The predator saw a woman exit a pub in Marlow and followed her to an address in High Wycombe.
He got out of his car and continued following the victim, aged in her 40s, before taking her into a nearby woods where he sexually assaulted her.
September: The Sports Direct Love Triangle
Whitney Franks, of Milton Keynes, was found guilty of soliciting murder in September after she paid a hitman around £1,000 to kill her boyfriend’s lover, Rutt Ruttna.
Franks went onto the dark web and sent a message stating ‘I am looking to hire for the murder of a woman’, before sharing Ruttna’s name, address and social media information.
Ruttna was in a relationship with her lover, James Prest, with the three all working at the Midsummer Place Sports Direct store where Prest was manager.
Franks was found guilty and was jailed for 12 years.
October: Drug dealer jailed
Katarina Vargova from High Wycombe pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs - cocaine and heroin in October.
Her bust was part of a huge drug crackdown in the town, with Vargova being jailed for two years and one month.
November: Ear biting leads to prison
A police officer was left with permanent scarring after she was attacked by High Wycombe man Mohammed Kamran Ali.
The initial crime occurred in June this year, and after the authorities spoke to Ali regarding another incident, he grabbed the officer, put her in a headlock, and bit her ear.
Ali is currently serving a two-and-half-year sentence.
December: Online thieve caught
An 18-year-old man will spend the next four years in a young offender institution after stealing money through the internet.
Jamal Alfred, of Milton Keynes, set up fake adverts on Facebook claiming to sell mobile phones. However, the money would go straight to Alfred.
His crimes took place between April and July 2022.
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