Father stranded after row with friends strolled into Aston Martin factory and stole £200k car to get home
A MAN who was stuck for a lift in the early hours stumbled across an unlocked Aston Martin factory – and drove himself home in a brand new £200,000 James Bond-style supercar.
Father-of-two Jason Boon said he was in ‘100 per cent heaven’ after finding himself in the luxury car firm’s headquarters.
The 45-year-old came across the factory in Gaydon, Warwickshire, after friends kicked him out of their car following an argument. A fault with the security system meant the gates were open and Boon was able to walk in and pick up the keys to an Aston Martin DB11 before driving himself in it to his home five miles away.
The car he took was later found with scuff marks and wheel rim damage which was sufficient for it to be written off, a court heard.
But Boon avoided prison for the ‘highly unusual’ burglary and was instead handed a suspended sentence. Recorder Alastair Smith told Boon: ‘Had I come to the view that this was a targeted operation to steal a valuable vehicle, you would have been facing a substantial custodial sentence.
‘But your actions were impulsive in a unique set of circumstances.’
Describing the crime, the judge said to Boon: ‘Having been left by some friends following an argument, you walked towards some buildings. These, it transpired, were the Aston Martin factory where, due to an error in their security system, the doors were opening independently.
‘There was no one around and the keys were readily accessible.
‘You drove one of the vehicles around, and the doors of the warehouse opened, allowing you to drive out of the factory and out of the compound.’
Unemployed Boon, of Southam, was handed a ten-month sentence suspended for two years after he admitted burglary, aggravated vehicle taking and having no insurance. He was also banned from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay £200 costs. Warwick Crown Court heard that Boon stole the supercar in the early hours of May 5. Prosecutor Ian Windridge said: ‘At shortly before 5.40am the police were alerted to a situation where an Aston Martin was being driven up and down a road in Southam. ‘They went there and found the car which had no registration number. A police dog tracked Mr Boon to a nearby house. He had the key to that car, some Aston Martin paperwork and a key fob relating to another Aston Martin.
‘It would seem that, by an unfortunate coincidence, Aston Martin had some difficulties that night with its security system which kept cutting out, with doors opening randomly – and at the time he was driving round, the system failed and the door opened.’
Paul O’Keeffe, defending, said: ‘Boon was out with friends and they had a disagreement and he was kicked out of the car.
‘He saw lights in the distance and walked towards them, and it happened to be the Aston Martin factory. He tried one of the cars and it started up. He drove round the factory and then found the gate open and he drove out. He drove to a friend’s home and then drove round.
‘He was feeling in a very low place at the time. Once he found himself in the Aston Martin factory with no one about it was, as he put it, “100 per cent heaven”.’