11 Shropshire criminals locked up in December - including burglars, violent offenders and one twisted fraudster
Despite the festivities, Shropshire's courts were busy in December, with several of the county's criminals being banged up behind bars.
With prisons crammed full of criminals, immediate custodial terms have seemingly been reserved for the worst offenders.
And since we last looked back in November, Shropshire's courts have been teeming with cases of varying magnitude.
Among the regular drink drivers and shoplifters, last month saw justice catch up with several criminals - including one shameful Shropshire fraudster who stole £100k from an elderly woman.
Simon Appleby, of Letton in Bucknell, was handed a three-year sentence after the court heard he'd helped himself to £15,000 of the woman's money as she lay dying in hospital.
Read more about that case and several others the Shropshire Star reported on last month:
1. 'Ranting' Telford man who used racist slur against 'vulnerable' woman in rap video live-streamed on Facebook
Ellis Neal, aged 23, was jailed for two months and issued with an indefinite restraining order after he uploaded a "rant" on social media while out of prison on licence.
In the video, uploaded to Facebook, Neal called the victim a "f***ing b***h”, also using a racist slur, and disclosed where she lived.
The court was told that the “particularly vulnerable” victim had to move house because she had people coming to her door after the video was streamed.
Neal, of Southfield, Sutton Hill, Telford, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment.
2. Telford shoplifter who stole jumper and whiskey from Sainsbury's
Sarabjeet Singh, aged 43, lifted the items worth a combined £96.45 from the supermarket chain’s store at The Forge retail park near Telford town centre on October 6 this year.
Singh, of Hydes Road, West Bromwich, pleaded guilty at Telford Magistrates Court to one count of theft from a shop.
Magistrates jailed Singh for six weeks.
3. The cannabis 'gardener' who was asleep in kitchen when police busted £100,000 Telford drugs farm
Aivaras Stankevicius, aged 26, was in bed when officers executed a warrant at a house in Sunnymead, Sutton Hill, Telford and discovered 129 cannabis plants.
Shrewsbury Crown Court was told that Stankevicius, who is Lithuanian, flew to the UK legally to look for work, initially landing in Liverpool and spending some time in Merseyside. But he found himself in Telford looking after the grow, and was busted on June 24 this year.
Stankevicius, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to producing a controlled drug of class B. He has no previous convictions in the UK and the prosecution had no evidence he had convictions from anywhere else in the world.
Stankevicius was sentenced to eight months in prison, but is likely to be deported before the sentence has elapsed.
4. Prolific burglar who 'violated' Shropshire family by breaking into their home during the night and stealing their £32,000 car
