A pair of prolific car thieves who struck at homes and compounds for high-end vehicles are behind bars after their burglary spree was uncovered during a covert West Midlands Police operation. Darren Smith (pic left) and Richard Mander stole luxury cars from driveways across the Midlands and also helped themselves to two Bentleys having infiltrated a car yard in Crewe. They took a Range Rover from a woman in Tamworth as she scraped ice from the windows and, in one audacious burglary, followed a woman into her Pelsall home as she returned from work and swiped car keys from a hallway table. However, unbeknown to Smith (42) and 32-year-old Mander, detectives had the pair under surveillance – and when they led officers to an industrial unit in Birmingham on March 17 this year two Audis stolen earlier that night were found. Smith and associate Wayne McDougal (37) were arrested from Smith’s home in Lansdowne Road, Erdington, the following morning whilst Mander, from Morgan Grove in Smiths Wood, was later picked up by police. Both Smith and Mander (pic right) admitted conspiracy to burgle, conspiracy to steal and a robbery on 21 February in Fenwick Close, Redditch, when Mander threatened the homeowner with a screwdriver before stealing his Audi A3. And at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday (Dec 1) they admitted the offences and were jailed for eight years, whilst McDougal (pic below) admitted involvement in the March 17 burglary at a home in Barnt Green and was handed a three-and-a-half year prison term. More details on this investigation can be found on the link below.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 10:03:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015