Gang jailed for town burglaries
A BURGLAR who left a trail of devastation when he ploughed through a Coventry garden where young children had been playing has been jailed.
Jay Bennett, 24, of Shulmans Walk, Henley Green, smashed through an iron gate, fences, sheds and a trampoline as he drove through gardens in Coundon in an attempt to escape police.
But he was caught and has now been jailed along with two other men who carried out a campaign of burglaries which netted more than £340,000 across Rugby, Kenilworth, Nuneaton, Bedworth, and Coventry.
The gang were sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on Friday, 8 September, for playing their part in a large scale series of “car and key” burglary offences in homes across Rugby, Nuneaton, Kenilworth and Coventry after admitting conspiracy to commit burglary at an earlier hearing.
The full value of items the group stole was more than £340,000 with high value cars and designer watches being taken.
Jay Bennett, 24, of Shulmans Walk, Henley Green, Coventry, was sentenced to seven years for two counts of conspiracy to burgle, and two incidents of dangerous driving. He was also banned from driving for a year and until an extended test passed, to be activated upon his release.
His brother, Gez Bennett, 21, of Shulmans Walk in Coventry was sentenced to four years for one count of conspiracy to burgle and an attempted burglary dwelling.
Tony Barrett, 22, of Lutterworth Road in Nuneaton was sentenced to four years six months for one count of conspiracy to burgle and theft of a BMW car.
An iron gate, fences, sheds and a trampoline were flattened by the car in Scots Lane in the Coundon area of Coventry as Jay Bennett tried to escape from police.
Eleonor Smith spoke to the Telegraph after her garden was destroyed by Jay Bennett in June this year.
Her children had been playing in one of the gardens just minutes before.
Speaking at the time, she said: “I had just dropped off one of my daughters at dancing and the other at drama club while my other daughter was upstairs.
“I just heard a massive bang. The car drove through one side of my fence and then through the other and took everything with them.
“I ran out into the garden and the car had just gone through and disappeared. My kids had just been playing in the garden and I told them to go and get ready for their classes. It could have been a whole different story.”
The offenders were identified following a lengthy complex investigation run by detectives from Rugby offender management unit who identified nearly 22 house burglaries between December 2016 and June 2017.
They stole designer watches and car keys with up to 14 high value cars stolen, over half of which were recovered.
The investigation culminated in a series of arrests conducted in January, March and June 2017, and using numerous police tactics such as mobile phone evidence, forensics, and the use of ANPR cameras, resulting in the recovery of stolen cars to the value of over £200,000.
Detective Constable Richard Zarcone of Warwickshire Police said: “While police caught these particular offenders, advice remains to keep car keys out of sight and lock doors and windows to make it more difficult for criminals.
“This was a thorough investigation conducted by officers from Offender Management Unit and Priority CID team ‘s from Rugby Police Station.
“These men would force entry to the properties using tools taken from the sheds at many of the house.
“I would ask that members of the public hide all valuables including car keys out of sight, and lock doors and windows to both external and internal buildings such as sheds and out houses.
“Think about the security of your home and reduce the risk of becoming a burglary victim.”
He added: “This conviction is a great result for the victims. Burglary is a very emotive and intrusive crime. To see these offenders behind bars should hopefully help them feel that justice has been done.”