Shop Burglars Have Jail Sentences Increased
Written by HFM News on 18th December 2020
A gang of burglars who raided supermarkets and convenience stores in and around Market Harborough have had their jail terms increased.
The Solicitor General has ruled the six year sentences handed down to the trio earlier this year were unduly lenient, extending them all by three years.
The men, from Northampton, smashed their way into the Co-Op on Coventry Road in Market Harborough, Esso Service Station in North Kilworth, Walcote Service Station, Tesco in Rothwell and the Co-Op and Tesco in Countesthorpe, during February and March this year.
The raids were during a crime spree that saw the gang target over 50 shops across five counties, stealing cigarettes worth £300,000 and causing damage totalling £100,000.
Otis Barrett, Matthew Brown & Terrance Brown Pic: Northants Police
Otis Barrett, aged 26, previously of Banbury Close, West Hunsbury has had three years added to his original six years and four month sentence.
Matthew Brown, aged 30, previously of Crow Lane, Little Billing, and Terrance Mark Brown, aged 26, previously of Glebeland Road, Spencer, also had three years added to their six-year terms of imprisonment.
Their offending carried on throughout lockdown until finally, on May 1, 2020, they were caught by police after burgling a Tesco Express in Northampton.
At yesterday’s hearing, the three High Court judges concluded the sentence was “unduly lenient”, agreeing with the submissions made on behalf of the Solicitor General that the overall offending was so serious, it needed a sentence close to the statutory maximum, even after credit for guilty plea.
Supt Lee McBride, head of Northamptonshire Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Team, said: “We welcome the ruling from the Solicitor-General which will rightly see the prison terms for these three offenders extended.
“Northamptonshire is a hostile environment for criminals and these lengthy sentences show that crime does not pay. Working alongside our partners the serious and organised crime team will pursue those who feel they are above the law and ensure our communities are kept safe.”
