Defendants jailed following raid on Ferndown home

Keiran Gausden, aged 24 and of Kingston Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, Octavio Gomes, 19, of Pevensey, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, and a 17-year-old boy from Eastbourne, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on 17 April after admitting an offence of robbery.

Brendan Fellows, 29 and of Etchingham Road, Eastbourne, Charlie Fellows, 27 of Sorel Drive, Eastbourne, and Ross Jackson, 32 and of Whinchat Road, Greenwich, London, were also sentenced after pleading guilty to burglary.

Gausden was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison, Gomes was sentenced to six years and eight months and the 17-year-old was sentenced to three years.

Brendan Fellows received a sentence of three years and four months, Charlie Fellows – who also admitted breaching a suspended sentence order – was jailed for four years and one month and Jackson was sentenced to two years and eight months.

At around 10.15pm on Wednesday 27 September 2017 the victim, a man in his 30s, answered the doorbell at his home in St Cleeve Way, Ferndown and saw Gomes standing in front of him.

The door was then pushed fully open and three or four men forced their way in.

The victim was repeatedly punched by the men and then placed in a headlock by one of them as around £18,000 worth of computer equipment was stolen from the address. It is believed the address had been targeted as the victim had recently advertised high value computer equipment for sale online.

A neighbour who had heard a disturbance contacted the police and saw around four people running from the house carrying items.

The victim sustained fractures to both cheek bones, which required reconstructive surgery, as well as bruising to his face and torso.

Following information passed to Sussex Police, a black Vauxhall Astra was stopped in Eastbourne at around 12.25am on 28 September 2017, approximately two hours after the incident.

The six defendants were all in the vehicle and were arrested. Computer equipment was located in the boot of the car, which was later confirmed to belong to the victim.

Detective Constable Adrian Turner, of Bournemouth CID, said: “These defendants targeted the victim after seeing the items advertised online and used a gratuitous level of violence during this incident.

“The attack left the victim with serious injuries, which he is still facing further treatment for.

“I would like to thank colleagues from Sussex Police for their assistance in apprehending the offenders and I hope the sentences imposed demonstrate that those responsible for these kind of violent offences will be brought to justice.”