Two young burglars who stole a £170,000 luxury car were caught after stopping off at locations where CCTV cameras could capture their faces.
Rhys Abbott, 20, and Roman Stevenson, 19, broke into a house in High View Avenue, Keyworth, before stealing the keys to a Range Rover Evoque Sport that was parked outside.
Nottinghamshire Police was called after the car’s owner woke to find the vehicle missing.
Detectives liaised with a tracking company and found the vehicle – which had been low on fuel – had stopped at a petrol station in Loughborough a short time after it was stolen at around 5.30am on 17 March this year.
CCTV footage showed Abbott filling the car with petrol before entering the kiosk and paying £40 in cash.
At 10am, the stolen car arrived at Heart of England Conference and Events Centre near Coventry, where CCTV captured Abbott and Stevenson stopping for food at its on-site restaurant.
Rhys Abbott (right) and Roman Stevenson (left) were caught on CCTV stopping for breakfast
The identities of the two burglars were established using facial recognition technology on the Police National Database.
Both men were arrested and taken into custody for questioning.
In his police interview, Abbott denied being involved in the burglary and claimed he was picked up by Range Rover after agreeing to a “paid job” in order to clear a drug-debt.
However his story was discredited when detectives found CCTV that showed two people walking towards the Keyworth house shortly before it was burgled. Whilst the images were poor quality, one of the individuals could be seen wearing clothing that matched what Abbott had been wearing that same morning.
The other person was wearing a coat with the same reflective patches on the back as worn by Stevenson.
Subsequently, both men were charged with burglary and theft.
Faced with overwhelming evidence, Abbott, of London Road, Leicester, and Stevenson, of Acacia Crescent, Bedworth, both pleaded guilty.
They appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday (5 August) and were each sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders institution.
Rhys Abbott (left) and Roman Stevenson
Following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant James Hirst, of Nottinghamshire Police’s county burglary team, said:
“This matter understandably caused a great deal of distress and anxiety to the victim, who was asleep upstairs when the burglary took place.
“We worked very hard to identify the offenders and it is testament to the quality of the investigation and the compelling evidence that was secured that both Abbott and Stevenson entered guilty pleas.
“These men may have proven themselves to be pretty woeful criminals and I am pleased we have been able to bring them to justice.”
