Councillor in 4x4 theft plot
A SERVING councillor has been found guilty of taking part in a plot to steal an off-road vehicle.
Bridgend councillor David Owen, 54, was found guilty of conspiracy to steal and handling stolen goods.
A SERVING councillor has been found guilty of taking part in a plot to steal an off-road vehicle worth thousands of pounds.
Bridgend councillor David Owen, 54, denied conspiring to steal a £9,000 John Deere Gator 4x4 after police found the utility vehicle on the driveway of his home in 2017, but was found guilty on Friday, February 7 after a trial at Newport Crown Court.
His wife Kelly Owen, 41, was found guilty of committing an act intended to pervert the course of justice by erasing the contents of a mobile phone used by David Owen to collude with another man days before the theft took place.
During the trial, the court heard a police investigation began after the 4x4 was stolen from a man named Glynn Davies on December 7, 2016.
Prosecutor Lucy Crowther told the jury a man named Lee Powell was arrested in connection with the theft and his mobile phone was examined by officers.
A telephone number was saved on the phone under a contact listed as “Dave new”.
Officers made inquiries with mobile phone providers and found it belonged to the defendant David Owen.
A series of messages including discussion of a John Deere Gator were sent between the two men on the evening of December 5 – two days before the theft.
David Owen asked Mr Powell: “Got any goodies?” Mr Powell responded, saying he had a “nice Gator lined up buddy”, to which David Owen replied “brilliant”.
When officers visited David Owen’s home in Llewellyn Street, Nantymoel, they found the vehicle on his driveway.
The licence plates had been removed but they identified it by its identification number.
Officers called David Owen and he answered and told them he was on holiday in Florida.
On March 7, he met with police at his offices on Bridge Street, Ogmore Vale.
He told officers he had bought it from a seller on Facebook and presented a receipt which was later found to be false.
He did not mention his contact with Lee Powell.
Giving evidence, David Owen told the court he is a sitting councillor for the Nantymoel ward and runs a company called New Age Security Limited, which provides site security for solar and wind farms.
He said he collects second-hand off-road vehicles for use by security staff.
On July 3, officers arrested David Owen and asked him to hand over the telephone he had used to communicate with Lee Powell.
David Owen was taken for questioning at Newport Central police station, but neither of the two phones he provided matched the number they had found.
Ms Crowther said a police officer called the number and Kelly Owen answered while her husband was still in custody.
The officer said he told Kelly Owen the phone may contain evidence vital to their case and not to do anything with it but by the time police arrived at David Owen’s office the phone had been badly damaged and completely wiped of all data.
Kelly Owen claimed she mistakenly deleted data on the phone while attempting to back it up.
David Owen was found guilty of conspiracy to steal and handling stolen goods.
Judge Richard Williams said the couple’s offences were so serious they could only be dealt with by an immediate custodial sentence.
They were granted bail while a pre-sentence report is drawn up on their behalf and are due to appear for sentence on March 2.