A "PROLIFIC" Southampton gang stole items worth hundreds of thousands of pounds in a spate of burglaries across numerous counties.
Three of the gang members have now been sentenced for their crimes, which saw six police forces working together to get the case to court.
Described as a large-scale conspiracy, the crime spree saw Mark Stephen Brady, Connor Steven Hampton and Liam Michael Grundy travel across Hampshire, Surrey, Dorset, Avon & Somerset, Sussex and Wiltshire in stolen cars to target local businesses.
The charges relate to 26 burglaries, with the value of goods stolen and damage caused coming in at £418,000.
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The gang would target mobile phone stores, bicycle stores, supermarkets and clothing stores between October 2020 and December 2020.
At a hearing at Southampton Crown Court on Tuesday, it was heard how the gang would travel from Southampton using a number of different vehicles – including hire vehicles and stolen vehicles on cloned number plates – in a two-car convoy.
They would then target and gain entry to commercial properties; using a variety of tools to access the stores and commit the burglary offences.
A large number of vehicles were also stolen as part of the conspiracy and used in part to commit the offences. Mark Stephen Brady, 31, of Laundry Road, Southampton, was jailed for two years and four months; to be served consecutively with a four-year sentence for a burglary in June 2021, for which he was jailed in September 2021.
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Connor Steven Hampton, 24, of Tunstall Road, Southampton, was jailed for three years.
Liam Michael Grundy, 34, of Matheson Road, Southampton, was given a 21-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.
Five other men had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to burgle at various hearings at Southampton Crown Court between November 2022 and April 2023.
Another man was found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to commit burglary following a short trial at Southampton Crown Court.
They are due to be sentenced in a separate hearing at Southampton Crown Court on Wednesday, August 2.
A total of 16 burglaries were committed in Hampshire, three burglaries in Surrey, three burglaries in Dorset, two burglaries in Avon & Somerset, one burglary in Sussex and one burglary in Wiltshire.
Detective Constable Paul Beasley, who led the investigation, described it as "complex and multi-faced" with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary working with officers in Surrey Police, Dorset Police, Avon & Somerset Police, Sussex Police and Wiltshire Police.
He said: "These men gave no thought for the impact that their actions were having on their victims; as such was their determination in targeting local businesses across different counties over a short period of time for their own personal greed.
"The group believed that they would not get caught and that they would continue to commit their spree of offending; but let this serve as a warning. You will be found, you will be stopped and we will bring you before the courts to see justice served."
Hampton was also arrested on 28 June 2022 in Southampton after being caught on CCTV near the scene of a burglary where a high value bike was stolen in Godalming. Further investigation connected him to a further 38 burglaries of high value bikes in the Waverley area including Godalming, Haslemere and Hindhead which occurred between January and June last year.
The West Surrey Proactive Investigation Team worked hard to gather the evidence needed to charge Hampton. He was charged with conspiracy to commit burglary non-dwelling with intent to steal between 4 January 2022 and 28 June 2022.
He was handed an 18-month sentence for these offences in Surrey, to be served at the same time as his three-year sentence.
PC Kat Sandys, who was part of the investigation team, said: “Yesterday’s result has seen a prolific offender brought to justice.
“The team worked extremely hard to review CCTV footage, gather witness statements and work through ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) data to investigate these offences.
“We hope that today’s result has demonstrated to our local community that we do take these offences seriously and they are investigated thoroughly and the fact that the offender is now behind bars provides them with some reassurance.”
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