Gang ‘tooled up’ for theft

THREE men arrested after being stopped in Runcorn in a van with balaclavas and tools have pleaded guilty to going equipped to steal.

Nicholas Chan, 31, of Island Road, and Stephen Jackson, 36, of Calthorpe Street, both Garston, and Dean William Taylor, 30, of Stockton Wood Road, Speke, were arrested after a spot check on their van in Weston Point Expressway on Sunday, November 13.

Inside, balaclavas, tools. police found gloves and

Det Con Calvin Fletcher said that the Citroen Berlingo had been stopped by officers because it was uninsured.

He said that Jackson was driving with Chan and Taylor on board as passengers.

As well as balaclavas, a search uncovered a green, camouflage hat with LED lights in the peak, torches, rubber gloves, latex gloves, bolt cutters, a crowbar, drill, four cans of green spray paint, a duvet cover and a sheet.

Although the men denied the offence in interview, they were charged, remanded and bailed by a court the next day.

Seized mobile phone, vehicle movements, insurance policies and other clues were analysed, resulting in more evidence being presented to the Crown Prosecution Service.

They pleaded guilty to going equipped to commit theft, at North Cheshire Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, February 14, and were given community orders, and fined, with costs.