Tag: Court

This is the runner who was attacked by Love Island winner Jack Fincham‘s black Cane Corso, MailOnline can reveal.

Richard Sudell, 42, was set upon the reality TV star’s out-of-control dog Elvis near his home in Swanley, Kent, in September 2022.

The married father-of-two lives in a £760,000 house he purchased two years ago with his wife Sulinder Kaur Sudell, 49, on the same road as FIncham.  

Fincham appeared at Southend-on-Sea Magistrates’ Court facing two counts of being in charge of a dangerously out-of-control dog on Wednesday. 

The 32-year-old pleaded guilty to the charges, which included a separate incident involving a woman occurring in Grays, Essex, in June 2024, although no injury was reported on that occasion. 

The former TOWIE regular was sentenced to six-weeks behind bars after the judge determined handing FIncham a further suspended sentence was not appropriate.

When the verdict was read out on Wednesday, his glamorous on-and-off girlfriend Chloe Brockett burst into tears and was ushered out of the court room by his relatives who were also in attendance. 

But the former pen salesman has since appealed his prison sentence and has been granted bail pending its outcome. 

He was later seen kissing his TOWIE partner outside a supermarket as they strolled hand-in-hand along a street in Essex after the trial yesterday afternoon. 

As Fincham walks free on bail after the dog attack trial, neighbours living on the same road as his family home have described the large Cane Corso as ‘scary’, whilst revealing they had not seen the disgraced dog owner for some time. 

One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘I’m a bit nervous of dogs anyway, but it is a scary looking dog.’  

‘He’s quite an intimidating looking dog.’

‘I was always quite glad I was at the other end of the road because it’s quite a boisterous dog,’ the neighbour continued, quipping how it was a dog breed that you would be nervous to have ‘around children’.

‘It’s a fair sized dog I would say and it was the appearance was not very nice,’ they added. 

Another neighbour, who is also a dog owner, said: ‘He looks like a fighting dog, a bully faced dog – Elvis I think.

‘I think my husband met the dog we’re talking about when he took our dog for a walk.

‘I think he does take orders, but maybe at that time of the attack he didn’t see what happened.

The resident believed Fincham had moved away out of the property but his parents still lived on the road.  

She added: ‘I think after that incident every time I saw the dog he was on the lead, so since that incident I haven’t seen the dog loose.’

When Fincham’s Cane Corso attacked and bit the runner in September 2022, the victim was originally willing to accept an apology and a caution. 

As a result, the 32-year-old would have to engage in a course on responsible dog ownership and abide by three conditions – keep the dog on a lead, for the canine to wear a muzzle when outside and for the animal not to be left alone with under 16s. 

However, there was another incident in June 2024, where Elvis grabbed the leg and ‘applied pressure’ to the calf of a woman.

The incident transpired when Fincham was three months into his suspended sentence, which he had been given for drug driving. 

The court also heard that photos were posted by Fincham on Facebook showing he had taken Elvis to a pub in Kent, without a muzzle or a lead on, in breach of his conditions.

At the time Fincham claimed that because the pub was dog-friendly he did not think it would be an issue.

Ms Anne Wade said on sentencing: ‘Some responsibility has been taken for his actions and note some compliance with probation.’

Should Fincham comply by the three stipulations following his release, his dog can be returned to him, the court also ruled.

Speaking afterwards, Sergeant Alex Watkins said: ‘Owners have to take responsibility for their dogs, and on these occasions this dog was dangerously out of control.

‘On both occasions the owner was given a chance to rectify their behaviour with words of advice and a conditional caution – however failed to do so, resulting in this sentencing.

‘I thank both victims for their courage during this investigation.’

Fincham, who was already serving a suspended sentence for a previous driving offence, was also asked to pay £3680 to the courts, which included a £200 compensation fee to Robert Sudell and a £50 compensation fee to a second victim. 

A payment plan was set up for Fincham to pay £400 per month upon release from jail 

Following today’s sentencing, Fincham sported an all-black ensemble coupled with a dark brown coat and white trainers as he and Ms Brockett walked into a Tesco supermarket.

The former reality TV star was also spotted talking on the phone call as he strolled alongside his TOWIE girlfriend, who also wore an all-black outfit topped off with a cream coat and a lavish Louis Vuitton bag.

When MailOnlince arrived at Fincham’s gated house set back from the road last night, man in his 60s answered the door.

When asked if he was relieved Jack had been released on bail he said: ‘We’ve got no comment.’

Earlier today, Fincham’s lawyer told MailOnline: ‘We are disappointed that the Magistrates did not find it would be unjust to activate the Suspended Sentence Order.

‘However, the case remains finely poised, and we are optimistic that in the fulness of time, the Crown Court will uphold Mr Fincham’s appeal.’

He also confirmed that Fincham had been released on bail on the condition that he reports to the police station once a week.

Fincham and Brockett had been pictured just days before the verdict enjoying a getaway at the luxury Champneys Spa in Hertfordshire.

Fincham originally shot to fame after winning the 2018 iteration of reality TV show Love Island alongside Dani Dyer, daughter of actor Danny Dyer.

This latest controversy is another legal blow for the former reality star, who previously sparked a backlash for importing Elvis from Russia in 2021 due to the dog’s cropped ears – an illegal practice in the UK. Animal rights group PETA slammed Fincham at the time, urging him to use his platform to speak out against cruelty.

Despite the criticism, Fincham had publicly defended his pet, recently sharing a photo on Instagram with the caption: ‘My best friend in the whole world. Have a story to tell you very soon. Sometimes I think this country is done honestly.’

The former pen salesman also has a history of flouting driving laws, having been convicted of drug driving just five months before his latest offence. He was banned for three years in October 2022 after being caught behind the wheel under the influence.

In March, Fincham was spared jail after speeding his £50,000 car during a cocaine binge.

He was behind the wheel of his BMW 520D driving down the hard shoulder of the A2 in Kent when he was stopped by police.

Fincham later admitted drug driving and driving without due care and attention.

He also pleaded guilty to driving without insurance and using false number plates.

Fincham, who won the ITV show’s 2018 series with Dani Dyer, told the court he was ‘driving angry’ to see a friend ‘who was in a bad way’ in August 2023.

He was given a 12-week sentence suspended for 18 months.

He was also disqualified from getting behind the wheel until October 2029 and must complete 250 hours of unpaid work.

The drug-driving conviction was Fincham’s second in five months after he was banned from driving for three years the previous October.

Fincham’s estranged father Mark Gard has also previously spent time behind bars after he was convicted for distributing cocaine around the country.

Away from his reality TV exploits, Fincham has previously dabbled in the sport of boxing.

Having previously taken part on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather’s bout against Youtuber Deji in 2022, Fincham was due to fight again in a special exhibition in Harrow at the beginning of March.

Following the 2022 fight, Fincham spoke of how he went into ‘self destruct mode’ by partying for 18 months.

‘I went into complete self destruct mode. I was already battling with addiction, at the time I was going into that fight. I was battling addiction quite secretly for a few years, as well’, he told Amber O’Donnell.

‘I was out every weekend, you know, taking drugs and drinking and just doing things that have lost me jobs, lost me friends. I’d always fall back on my family. But I think even they got to a point where they were too sick of hearing it’, he added.

In an attempt to combat these destructive habits, Fincham entered rehab after becoming addicted to cocaine and diazepam pills.

Speaking to The Sun at the time, Fincham confessed: ‘Death was on the cards for me, it was imminent.’