Round-up of people jailed in April for crimes in Hertfordshire

The list below includes some of the offenders in our area that were put behind bars by judges during April.

The offenders' names and a summary of what led to them appearing in the dock are as follows:

Owais Shafiq and Usman Malik

Owais Shafiq, left, and Usman Malik have been jailed. Credit: Hertfordshire Constabulary

Two men have been jailed after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

Owais Shafiq, 32, of Douglas Avenue, Watford, and Usman Malik, 26, of The Roundway, Watford, appeared for sentencing at Huntingdon Crown Court on Tuesday (April 27).

Shafiq was sentenced to seven years and seven months in prison and Malik was jailed for five years and nine months.

In December 2020, police officers from the operational support group stopped a Vauxhall Corsa on the A405 in Bricket Wood driving towards Watford. The two occupants were arrested on suspicion of drug supply offences.

Police say a hotel room they were using to run a drugs line was subsequently searched and cocaine, cash and equipment used to prepare drugs for sale was discovered.

Lewis Croucher

Lewis Croucher has been jailed (photo Hertfordshire Constabulary)

A disqualified driver who crashed into a wall driving a car he stole has been jailed.

Lewis Croucher, aged 26, of no fixed address, appeared before St Albans Crown Court on Tuesday, April 20.

The court heard how in the early hours of Tuesday, January 26, officers on proactive patrol spotted a car being driven erratically, without its headlights on, in Langley Way, Watford.

They signalled for the vehicle to stop but Croucher, who was behind the wheel, failed to do so before colliding with a wall further down the road.

He fled the scene and despite a thorough area search with support from the National Police Air Service and the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Dog Unit, he was not located.

The vehicle was seized and examined by officers from the Scientific Services Unit, who retrieved Croucher’s DNA. He was subsequently arrested on Thursday 18 February.

Further enquiries unearthed CCTV footage showing Croucher trying the door handle of the vehicle, which had been left unlocked.

Croucher was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and driving whilst disqualified.

He has also been disqualified from driving for a further three and a half years.

He is also now the subject of a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO), the terms of which prohibit him from entering the borough of Watford, entering the area of Bushey or entering any vehicle – or removing items from any vehicle – unless in the company of the registered owner in Hertfordshire.

Anthony Olive, John Bowie and Michaela Olive

Anthony Olive (left) and John Bowie (middle) and Michaela Olive (right) Photo: Herts Constabulary

Two brothers from Watford and their mother have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Esam Ayad in Hoddesdon.

Armed with a shotgun, Anthony Olive and John Bowie were driven to Ogard Road by their mother Michaela Olive on the night of Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Once there Michaela waited in her car with the engine running in nearby Castle Road ready to be the getaway driver.

Her sons went to the house where they knew 26-year-old father of two Esam was and shot him in the face by firing through an open upstairs window. He was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries the following day.

Following a three-month trial at Woolwich Crown Court, Olive, aged 29, Bowie, aged 27, both from Watford, and their mother Michaela Olive, aged 49, of Broxbourne, were found guilty of murder.

All three were handed life sentences on April 26. Bowie must serve a minimum term of 32 years; Olive must remain behind bars for a minimum of 28 years and Michaela Olive must serve a minimum term of 22 years.

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