THOSE sentenced in March include a Major General who fraudulently claimed thousands of pounds to send his children to private school and a drug dealer found with almost £40,000 worth of cocaine.

Courts across the county have given out hefty prison sentences for all manner of crimes last month.

These are just some of the court cases our reporters covered last month.

Here are the criminals and their crimes:

Major General Nick Welch

Basingstoke Gazette:

The major general was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment for fraudulently claiming £48,000 000 in allowances to pay for his children’s boarding school fees.

The Major General previously claimed that his roles in Andover and London made it more difficult to comply with the “mess” of military rules.

Mr Welch is understood to be the most senior officer to face court martial since 1815.

Miroslav Jacko 

Basingstoke Gazette: Miroslav JackoMiroslav Jacko

Miroslav Jacko was almost four and a half times the legal limit when he was stopped on the M3 near Chandler’s Ford driving a Mercedes Sprinter, a court heard.

The 30-year-old had previously been spotted travelling eastbound on the M27 by members of the public who called the police concerned about his driving.

Jacko - who works as a delivery driver for a charity - was said to have been polite when spoken to by an officer. The vehicle was also properly documented.

He was charged with driving with excess alcohol to which he pleaded guilty.

He was jailed for eight weeks and disqualified from driving for 37 months. Jacko must pay a £128 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

Mark John Parsons

Basingstoke Gazette:

Mark John Parsons abused his position as operations director of GR Westbuild Ltd over a 10-month period.

Parsons, of Garfield Close, Bishop’s Waltham, instructed customers to pay him directly in cash or arranged for invoices to be paid into his personal bank account.

This money, in the region of £40,000, was used by the 40-year-old defendant in a failed attempt to win back money he had lost gambling.

The defendant was jailed for two years and two months after admitting charges of fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position.

Antonio Panayi

Basingstoke Gazette:

The 28 year old of Albert Street, Gosport, who had links to the Isle of Wight, was arrested after a police raid on an Albert Street property resulted in the discovery of drugs and cash. 

In the raid which happened on September 16 last year, approximately £17,000 worth of cash and an estimated £20,000 worth of cocaine was discovered. 

Panayi was charged with possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply and two counts of possession of a Class B drug with intent to supply.

He was today jailed for four and a half years at Portsmouth Crown Court having previously pleaded guilty to the offences.

Karl Waller-Adams

Basingstoke Gazette:

The 33-year-old carried out an assault at an address in the Shanklin area of the Isle of Wight on Sunday 29 November 2020.

The incident was reported to police on December 18 after the victim, a woman in her 40s, found the courage to tell medical staff what had caused her injuries.

She had suffered three fractures to her jaw which required surgery. Her treatment is ongoing, with further surgery required.

Appearing at Isle of Wight Crown Court he pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm without intent and was jailed for 36 months.

He was given an additional two months in prison for pleading guilty to an incident of harassment in the St John’s Hill area of Ryde between August 9 and 13 last year.

He received a further four months following an incident on Star Street in Ryde on August 16, for which he pleaded guilty to the offences of theft, assault by beating and fraud at the Magistrates’ Court on December 21.