From an ex-businessman caught out in a BMW to a thief targeting a local cafe - here are the latest cases heard in Swindon Magistrates' Court.
Thief 'funding drug habit' targets company
Ashley Witts, of no fixed abode in Swindon, appeared in court charged with stealing two barriers belonging to Brew Book LTD on December 27, 2025.
The barriers were reportedly worth £200. Brew Book LTD is a 'cafe for the community' at Upper Stratton Library in Swindon.
The court heard that he was "funding his drug habit at the time", but has now been clean for eight months.
Witts indicated guilty pleas in the magistrates' court, and he has now been ordered to pay back £200 in compensation to the company.
He has also been fined £700.
Ankle tag for Highworth attacker after trial
Jake Tomkins, of Fairview in Highworth, denied attacking a man in Aldbourne on September 13.
The 40-year-old stood trial in Swindon Magistrates' Court but was found guilty on September 17.
Reappearing in the court on November 5, he has now been sentenced to a community order that will last until May 2028.
He will also face a curfew with an electronic tag attached to his ankle for the next six months.
Former director of Swindon business caught drug-driving in BMW
Fakhir Mehdi, of Crawford Close in Freshbrook, appeared in the dock on Thursday, November 5, and admitted to drug driving.
On March 28, he was caught driving a BMW on Great Western Way in Swindon with 6.2 micrograms of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per litre of blood in his system.
The 26-year-old, who is the former director of Swindon company Violent Lion LTD, also admitted that he did not have valid car insurance on the BMW at the time.
He has now been banned from driving for 16 months and ordered to pay a £1000 fine.
He must also pay £85 in court costs and a £400 government surcharge, leaving him with a total bill of £1485.
Violent Lion LTD, which Mehdi was a director of, was a company involved in the wholesale of household goods and has since been dissolved.
Man fined over £500 for gate damage
Scott Waters, of Marlborough High Street, appeared in Swindon Magistrates' Court on Thursday, November 5, charged with causing criminal damage to a woman's wooden gate on February 16.
The 38-year-old admitted to the crime and has now been fined £320.
He must also pay £85 in court costs and a £128 mandatory surcharge, leaving him with a total bill of £533.
Swindon attacker avoids prison
Corey Gunn, of Purton Road in Swindon, has admitted to assaulting a man on September 11.
He's now been ordered to pay £150, and has been handed a four week prison sentence, suspended for six months.
This means he will only go to jail if he reoffends within the next six months.
Court documents state that the prison sentence was suspended because "there is still a realistic prospect of rehabilitation."
Share