Four men sentenced after series of aggravated burglaries

Four men have been sentenced for their involvement in a series of aggravated burglaries across Leicester.

Lee Heane, 30, of no fixed address, Sonny Brogan, 27, of no fixed address and Paul Bray, 33, of no fixed address were all convicted at Leicester Crown Court on Monday 4 October following a six-week trial.

A fourth man Declan Winkless, 27, of no fixed address pleaded guilty to the same charges at an earlier hearing.

A fifth man, Javon Roach, 33, of Wellington Road, Birmingham, who also stood trial was found not guilty.

The four men were sentenced today (7 October) at the same court as follows:

• Heane was sentenced to 19 years in prison
• Brogan was sentenced to 16 years and six months in prison
• Bray was sentenced to 13 years in prison
• Winkless was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison

Officers began an investigation in December 2020 into a number of aggravated burglaries across the Leicester area.

Enquiries carried out by detectives led to the arrest of the five men who were all charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary relating to incidents at properties at the following addresses:

Wentworth Road, Leicester on 15 December 2020
Evington Lane, Leicester on 19 December 2020
Heawood Way, Leicester on 21 December 2020
New Fields Square on 5 January 2021

The group were also charged with conspiracy to commit burglary at properties at these addresses:

Narborough Road South, Leicester on 4 January 2021
Bonville Place, Leicester on 9 January 2021

During the aggravated burglaries, the men forced entry into the properties, threatened occupants with weapons including metal poles, knives and screwdrivers and assaulted them, including a pregnant woman and a child.

The items stolen in these incidents included large amounts of cash, jewellery including two Rolex watches worth over £20,000 and an Audi RS7.

 

 

Detective Sergeant Kevin Hames, from the force’s Complex Investigation Team, said: “This group were responsible for a series of exceptionally frightening incidents for the occupants of these properties. A number of the occupants required hospital treatment and suffered life changing injuries.

“I would like to personally thank all of the victims of crime who have supported the investigation process and have been exceptionally brave. A thank you must also to the wider communities where these offences took place who have also supported the investigation as without the support we received this result would not have been possible.

“We continue to work extremely hard to keep our communities safe and urge anyone with any concerns to please get in touch. We take action on all reports we receive.”

Anyone with concerns about crime can call 101 or visit https://www.leics.police.uk/ro/report/.