Teen targeted restaurant in crime spree
A TEENAGER kicked in the doors of an Indian restaurant and then stole cash from a warehouse.
Jay Storey from Cwmbran was abusing substances during a crime spree that included stealing cars and burgling homes, a court heard.
Last year Storey was jailed for nine months over a spate of offences from 2020 when he stole two cars and damaged them as well as burgling Halfords in Cwmbran.
And he appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court last Thursday to be sentenced for three more crimes from around the same time.
The court heard that a police error had caused the two-year delay.
Prosecutor Emma Davies said a witness woke at 12.10am on August 31, 2020, to hear banging on his street, The Highway, in New Inn near Pontypool.
He looked out of the window and saw the then-18-year-old Storey kicking in the rear doors of a nearby Indian takeaway. Storey, whose face was covered by a helmet, caused £200 worth of damage.
Around an hour later Storey went to the Ultra Coat powder coating warehouse on Woodfield Road. He kicked through the bottom panel of a door and stole about £200 from a drawer as well as the keys to a van.
Ms Davies said Storey had also targeted a home in Trostrey,
Cwmbran, at 1.45am the day before.
Storey, of Brangwyn Avenue, failed to break into the home but admitted attempting burglary. The defendant, now 20, also pleaded guilty to the two Pontypool burglaries. The court heard a Stanley knife was found at one of the crime scenes and a police error meant there was a delay in sending it to forensics. None of Storey’s DNA was found on the weapon but the mistake caused a two-year delay in the case.
Francesca Edwards pointed out her client had admitted the offences in 2020 when interviewed by police. The solicitor added that Storey was at the time experiencing “a degree of separation” from his family and “associating with negative peers”. She told the court: “These were among a string of burglaries being committed at the time, and this was to do with the group he was associating with. His luck ran out and he ended up going to custody in 2021 for nine months. Had these matters been brought before the court then he would have received concurrent sentences.”
Concurrent sentences would have meant Storey serving them at the same time rather than being brought before the court again.
Ms Edwards added: “He has managed to obtain employment at a factory in Abergavenny, which will start immediately after the resolution of this case.
“He has a positive relationship with his partner and no substance misuse issues, which were the issue in the past..”
Presiding Justice Sian Hodges said it would be “unjust” to punish Storey with a community order because “if this had been brought to court before, it would have been dealt with already and you would have probably had concurrent prison sentences, so we’re going to give you a conditional discharge for 12 months”.
Mrs Hodges also ordered him to pay £200 in compensation each to the takeaway and warehouse.
Storey, who receives Personal Independence Payments due to learning difficulties, must also pay £85 in prosecution costs and a £22 victim services surcharge.
He will pay the debt at a rate of £10 per fortnight.