A burglar was left cursing his luck after an unexpected run-in with an unmarked police car.
Leon Cooper, aged 25, stole a van after breaking into a property in Newthorpe Common, Eastwood, and taking the key at around midnight on Monday 21 March this year.
His luck run out shortly before 3pm the following day when he was spotted driving the van by an unmarked police car in the village of Moorgreen and pulled over.
As he was led away Cooper falsely claimed to have found the vehicle unlocked on the driveway with the keys in the ignition – a line he stuck to in his police interview.
Cooper, of Warwick Road, Somecotes, later admitted to burglary and aggravated vehicle taking.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (22 June) he was jailed for ten months for the burglary and an additional 14 weeks for the vehicle taking.
Police Investigator Nicola Wiley, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This kind of offence has a very significant impact on victims who have their homes and lives violated.
“Cooper thought he could walk into somebody else’s house, steal their vehicle and get away with it. Unfortunately for him, he hadn’t reckoned on coming to the attention of the unmarked police car that proved to be his undoing.
“I am pleased he has now received a jail sentence and hope this case serves as a warning to others who think they can get away with driving stolen vehicles on our streets.”
