Gang jailed for £1m crime spree

A GANG which terrorised Wokingham and other parts of Berkshire, Surrey, Middlesex and Buckinghamshire in a five-month crime spree has been jailed for a total of 18 years.

Danny Stevens, 38, of Hayden Place, Yateley, Paul Smith, 24, of Shurlock Road, Shurlock Row, Jason Eastwood, 41, of Willow Crescent, Farnborough, and Luke Cole, 24, of Stockbridge Lane, Doncaster, were involved in a £1million spree which included blowing open cash machines using gas, and stealing trophies from the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team.

The gang was also convicted of burgling a clothing shop in High Street Crowthorne on November 17 2014, the Co-op at School Green, Shinfield on March 24 this year, Duffy’s Spar in Oakmede Place, Binfield on March 31, and Twyford Convenience Store in Longfield Road, Twyford on April 24.

The men also carried out two attempted thefts of ATM machines at the Nationwide in High Street, Crowthorne, on April 25 this year, and at Santander in Crockhamwell Road, Woodley, the following day.

The gang was found guilty of 39 offences, including stealing number plates from vehicles in Finchampstead, Arborfield, Shinfield, Wokingham and Warfield.

Appearing at Guildford Crown Court on Friday (13) Stevens was sentenced to seven years in prison, Smith was handed six years, Eastwood was given three years and four months, while Cole was sentenced to two years.

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Although the majority of offences involved the theft of ATMs at banks, shops, or petrol stations, the gang also targeted the headquarters of motorsports team Red Bull Racing in Buckinghamshire on December 6, 2014, where they stole £565,000 worth of unique trophies. Some of these were later recovered from Horseshoe Lake in Yateley, Hampshire.

Head of Surrey Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit Detective Chief Inspector Shaun Anderson said: “These four men left a trail of destruction in their wake and thanks to the hard work of our officers they will be off the streets of Surrey for years to come.

“The public can be rest assured that we are committed to tackling organised crime as it can have a direct impact on other areas of offending. By taking career criminals such as these off the streets we can put a stop to countless more innocent people becoming victims of crime.”

Detective Constable Matt Earl who led the investigation, said: “These men put others and themselves at risk in their chaotic and quite frankly dangerous attempts to access cash machines.

“They are incredibly fortunate not to have seriously injured members of the public who lived near to some of the cash machines, or next to a petrol station where they attempted to blow up one of the ATMs.

“They have showed absolutely no remorse and have now deservedly been brought to justice for causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to family run businesses through their reckless actions. They have ultimately paid the price because of their greed.”