Wanted man caught in Brighton after lockdown stop

A man who assaulted a police officer in Brighton and gave fake identities to mask a series of outstanding crimes has been jailed.

Sanmid Singh Sidana, 28, of Taunton Road in Hounslow, was a passenger in a car stopped by officers shortly after midnight on March 2, in Montpelier Road in Brighton.

Sidana was in breach of Covid regulations at the time, so was asked to provide identification details for a ticket to be issued. He claimed to be a 23-year-old man under a different name, but was unable to provide an address.

A check of the details Sidana supplied on the national police database showed a driving licence photograph did not match his appearance and he was asked to have his fingerprints scanned – a request he refused without being placed under arrest.

Officers attempted to arrest Sidana for failing to provide sufficient details but he became physically aggressive, kicking an officer and claiming to have swallowed a quantity of drugs.

After being taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital, he once again became aggressive and assaulted another officer before being taken into custody. There he refused to provide fingerprints, a photograph or DNA and was remanded to court without establishing his identity.

At Brighton Magistrates’ Court on March 30, Sidana once again provided a false name, several dates of birth and an address.

Investigations proved Sidana was not who he was claiming to be, but over a number of weeks he repeatedly resisted a fingerprint scan to confirm his identity.

On April 14, Sidana was finally placed on a live scan finger print machine that confirmed he was 28-year-old Sanmid Singh Sidana, who was wanted for failing to appear at magistrates’ courts in London and Hampshire on charges of assaulting a police officer, burglary and supplying Class A drugs.

Sidana pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on April 16, still using a fake identity, and was jailed.

When he was released from custody at HMP Lewes on April 27, Sidana was arrested and charged by the Specialist Enforcement Unit Investigations Team for perverting the course of public justice.

He was remanded in custody, pleaded guilty to the offence and on November 19 he was sentenced to 64 weeks imprisonment at Lewes Crown Court.

Acting Detective Sergeant Tom Duffy, of the Specialist Enforcement Unit, said: “Sanmid Singh Sidana wasted a huge amount of time and resources by wilfully giving a false identity under a fake name and three different dates of birth.

“Thanks to the tenacity of our officers in disproving his story and revealing his true identity, a serial offender wanted for a number of crimes has now been brought to justice.”