Thief banned from touching cars is jailed
A THIEF is behind bars after he breached a court order banning him from touching cars.
Anthony Harris, 28, was slapped with a criminal behaviour order – forbidding him from going near motors – by a court in July for theft offences.
One of the term’s orders prevents Harris, from Bury, from ‘intentionally touching or interfering’ with any vehicle unless he has permission from the owner or is a fare-paying passenger.
He is also banned from trespassing on any private driveway across Bury.
Police in Whitefield have now revealed that Harris, of Glendevon Place, breached the order last month by breaking into vehicles parked on driveways.
Harris was jailed for five months after pleading guilty to two counts of theft from a motor vehicle, two counts of vehicle interference and fraud at Manchester and Salford magistrates court.
The offences all took place in August in Whitefield.
At around 1.15am on August 26, Harris got into a car parked on a driveway, but nothing was stolen. Days later, he tried a car’s door handles before breaking into another vehicle parked on a different driveway and snatching a cash card. Harris left a pair of sunglasses in that car, which police established had been stolen from another vehicle. The fraud offences relate to Harris using the cash card in McDonald’s and at a convenience store to buy cigarettes days after the break-in. Harris’s order, which also prevents him from entering Hardmans Road, runs until July 2019. Officers at GMP’s Bury South division welcomed the conviction. A spokesman said: “Evidence was put before the court showing Harris had breached the order by going on to residents’ driveways and touching their vehicles. “Harris was imprisoned for five months.” Criminal Behaviour Orders, introduced in 2014, are aimed at tackling the most ‘serious and persistent’ offenders. The orders are available on conviction for any criminal offence in any criminal court and are designed to include prohibitions to stop crime and anti-social behaviour.
Evidence was put before the court showing Harris had breached the order Police spokeman