Burglary gang left trail of destruction in five counties
ABRAZEN gang were caught on CCTV hurling bricks and rocks at police officers during a West cash machine raid before ramming them with a getaway car.
The crooks were part of a burglary gang who broke into ATMs in takeaways and shops across five counties.
Between 2022 and 2023 they struck 17 businesses across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
They used a stolen fire service angle grinder, normally used to free car crash victims, to slice open cash machines.
Footage shows the Birminghambased gang raiding an ATM at a Tesco on Hewlett Road, Cheltenham, on September 7 last year.
A stolen BMW with false plates pulls up and three men use a saw and crowbars to force their way into the cash machine, while a fourth acts as a lookout.
As police arrived minutes later, the gang threw rocks and bricks at officers, forcing one of the officers to hide behind his car.
Another thug threw a brick at the front passenger window where an officer was sitting.
The gang then rammed the police car out of the way before escaping.
In another raid the gang tried breaking into an ATM at a Tesco Express in Kenilworth, Warwickshire.
Sparks from an angle grinder caused a fire to break out which spread to a next door baker’s shop causing an estimated £1 million worth of damage.
On August 31 last year, gang member Reece Pedley was among a group who broke into Snappy Tomato Pizza in Coventry.
CCTV shows the burglars using specialist cutting equipment to steal thousands of pounds from the cash machine.
A major investigation involving six police forces was launched to catch the gang. Officers identified the gang using mobile phone records, CCTV, vehicle tracking data and witness accounts.
They were arrested in November and December last year and admitted conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to handle stolen vehicles and goods.
Each of the men pleaded guilty to their roles in only some of the raids, but between them they admitted taking part in 17 different offences.
Detectives traced some of the tools back to a burglary in Warwickshire where £50,000 worth of specialist tools were stolen from a fire station in 2022.
On Monday the four men from Birmingham were jailed for more than 30 years at Birmingham Crown Court.
Justin Buckley, 40, of Hall Green, was jailed for eight years and four months.
Chris Hands, 37, of Kings Heath, was jailed for nine and a half years. In addition to the conspiracy charges, he admitted one burglary.
Reece Pedley, 34, of Yardley Wood, was jailed for seven years and seven months while John O’Shaughnessy, 36, of Kings Heath, was sentenced to eight years.
Detective Constable Edward Costello, from West Midlands Police Major Crime Proactive Team, said: “This was a professional and organised criminal gang who stole hundreds of thousands of pounds from businesses, and weren’t afraid to use force to get what they wanted.
“They threatened and used significant force against civilians and police who tried to intervene, and they were persistent.
“The theft of the equipment obviously compromised the ability of the fire service to protect communities.”