Ram raiders jailed for Shrewsbury store break-in
Two men who took part in a ram raid which saw nearly £5,000 worth of clothing taken from a sports shop in Shrewsbury have been jailed for a total of nearly five years.
Kyren Hale and Ian Bevan claimed they were "recruited" to take part in the raid on The Locker Room in The Square.
Shrewsbury Crown Court heard a stolen Vauxhall Carlton car with fake Lithuanian number plates was used to plough through the front window of the store on December 13 last year.
Mr Phillip Beardwell, prosecuting, said police also received a hoax call from a phone linked to Hale diverting them to the other end of town to investigate a non-existent rape and reports of gunshots. He said Hale denied making the call.
No-one else has been charged in relation to the incident and the clothing, valued at £4,669.85, was never recovered, the court heard. The car was found burnt out in the town and Hale and Bevan were arrested by police nearby. Both were found to have shards of glass on their clothing consistent with that in the window at The Locker Room, Mr Beardwell said.
Hale, 21, of Severn Street, Shrewsbury, and Bevan, 29, of Kynaston Road, Harlescott, Shrewsbury, both admitted burglary at a previous hearing. Crack cocaine addict Hale also admitted two charges of theft and one count of passing counterfeit money. He asked for four other offences of passing fake cash to be taken into consideration, the court heard.
Mr Beardwell said Hale attempted to use fake £20 notes to pay for goods in the One Stop shop in Longden Coleham, Shrewsbury; at Iceland in the town; at Low Town Pet Care in Bridge Street, and the Factory Shop in High Street, both in Bridgnorth; and at The Vaults in Shrewsbury all in January this year. On three of the five occasions he was successful in using the fake notes to buy cheap items and received the change.
The court heard he also stole £50 in cash from Bistro Jacques in Mardol, Shrewsbury, on January 13 this year and a mobile phone from Zizi restaurant in High Street, Shrewsbury the next day. Mr Stephen Scully, for Hale, said his client was on benefits but spending between £80 and £90 a day on crack cocaine.
Bevan was told by Judge Robin Onions he had one of the worst records for commercial burglaries he "had ever seen". But defence counsel, Mr Andrew Holland, said Bevan had leapt from the "second division to the Premier League" by taking part in the store raid.
Both men were sentenced to two years and four months in prison.
