THESE six criminals were recently handed prison sentences for offences such as drug dealing, robbery, wounding and dangerous driving.

We look at their crimes and punishment. 

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Janis Balodis

Free Press Series:

Latvian heroin dealer Janis Balodis "fears" being deported back to his native country after he was jailed for drug trafficking in Newport.

The 30-year-old was caught by Gwent Police officers selling drugs outside a shop on the city’s Corporation Road.

Balodis was jailed for two years. 

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Calum Vaughan

Free Press Series:

Drug dealer Calum Vaughan was "using a schoolboy as a runner" and was trafficking cannabis the day after his pre-sentence report appointment with the Probation Service.

He was looking at a suspended prison term or community order following his guilty plea to selling the class B drug in Abergavenny last year.

But he was jailed after a judge heard the defendant was back at it dealing cannabis 24 hours on from his meeting with a probation officer.

The 30-year-old, formerly of Firs Road, Mardy, Abergavenny, was jailed for 12 months.

READ MORE: Couple 'lucky they didn’t kill someone' driving wrong way down dual carriageway

Stephen Knight

Free Press Series:

A biker who travelled at more than 100mph and on the wrong side of the road during a police chase was told he could have killed someone.

Stephen Knight, 29, of Pantypwdyn Road, Abertillery, also sped through a red light while being pursued by an officer in an unmarked patrol car.

Recorder David Elias QC, said: “You placed other road users at risk of injury or indeed death.”

Knight was jailed for six months and banned from driving for two years and three months.

Connor O’Halloran

Free Press Series:

Connor O’Halloran left a friend with a potentially life-threatening injury after puncturing his lung as they fought over an £80 debt.

The 20-year-old from Pontypool attacked Ian Powell with a sharp weapon described variously as a “cigar cutter, golfing tool or bottle opener”.

He was sent to a young offender institution for 25 months.

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Gareth Worth

Free Press Series:

A one-man crime wave was jailed after he went on a shoplifting spree which saw him steal a TV, alcohol and a packet of crisps.

Gareth Worth caused mayhem in Monmouthshire after he targeted supermarkets in Chepstow, Caldicot and Monmouth.

He stole from Marks & Spencer, Lidl, Tesco and Asda between May and October 2020.

The 29-year-old was locked up for 44 weeks at Newport Magistrates’ Court.

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Gareth Jasons

Free Press Series:

A robber grabbed a 77-year-old laundrette owner by his neck and hair and demanded his hand over cash from his till during a terrifying raid.

Gareth Jasons, 41, attacked Lewis Jones at his business on Newport’s Church Road.

Judge Jeremy Jenkins told the defendant: “Imagine how he must have felt.

“You are a powerfully built man of 6ft 2in and you robbed a 77-year-old man.

“He was hardly a match for you.”

Jasons was jailed for two years.