Gang of nine sentenced for conspiring to commit scores of burglaries
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A young gang who planned a three-month crime spree over social media have been jailed.
The nine-strong group – who called themselves the ‘B-Town Twockers’ – devised plans to break into properties across Leicester and Leicestershire between 21 October 2021 and 12 January 2022. Their intention was to steal various items from their victims’ homes, but their main focus was cars and motorcycles that had been parked outside.
Areas they planned to target included Leicester, Shepshed, Braunstone, Glen Parva, Wigston, Oadby, Great Glen, Houghton-on-the-Hill, Narborough and Littlethorpe.
The group were identified by police following a series of incidents when they were driving vehicles that had been reported stolen and failed to stop for officers when they were asked to do so. Some members were subsequently arrested and during the investigation their phones were examined.
On their devices, officers found Snapchat group chats, in which they discussed their plans and shared photos and videos of cars. They also used the app to discuss what nights they would go out and areas or addresses they intended to target.
On 2 January this year, at Leicester Crown Court, 19-year-old Archie Golding and Oliver Smith, 22 each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit burglary and one count of conspiracy to steal.
Eighteen-year-old Riley Lloyd also pleaded guilty to the same two offences when he appeared at the same court on 30 April.
On 10 May, the following five appeared at Leicester Crown Court:
- Kian Payne, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to steal
- Lewis Clayton-Ayres, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of burglary
- Dylan Anstiss, 18, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit burglary
- Riley Whitehead, 18, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to steal
- A 17-year-old – who cannot be named for legal reasons – pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit burglary and one count of conspiracy to steal
Twenty-one-year-old Travis Read appeared at Leicester Crown Court on 13 May and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to steal.
Clayton-Ayres then appeared at Leicester Crown Court again, where he pleaded guilty to one count of theft and one count of dangerous driving. The charges related to the thefts of two Mercedes cars – a C-Class and an E-Class – from an address in Biddle Road, Littlethorpe in the early hours of 6 January this year.
At around 5.20pm that day, both vehicles were located in a car park in Monks Kirby in Warwickshire. Clayton-Ayres was seen by the National Police Air Service (NPAS) leaving the vehicles behind and getting into a grey BMW 3 Series and driving off. As seen in the footage below, the car made its way across the county border and into Leicestershire. On the A5, the BMW passed a lorry head-on at around 90mph, maintaining similar speeds while going through blind bends.
The car then continued through Narborough and eventually came to a stop near the Foxhunter roundabout. Clayton-Ayres, who had been driving, fled on foot but was arrested by police in Lime Tree Road just after 6pm.
In court, Alex Wolfson, prosecution counsel, said: “It is the worst driving any court has ever seen, without a collision.”
Yesterday (Thursday 15 August) at the same court:
- Clayton-Ayres, of HMP Nottingham, was sentenced to a total of 15 months’ imprisonment. He was also disqualified from driving for 19-and-a-half months
- Golding, of HMP Nottingham, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment. He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months
- Smith, of HMP Leicester, was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment. This included 12 months for the offences above and a consecutive three-month sentence for an unrelated affay
- The 17-year-old was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment
The following were each sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years:
- Anstiss, of Tyndale Street, Westcotes
- Read, of HMP Ranby
- Payne, of HMP Nottingham
- Whitehead, of Falconer Crescent, New Parks
- Lloyd, of Bronte Close, Braunstone Park
Detective Inspector Simon Pearson, the senior investigating officer, said: “The group had no regard whatsoever for either the law or those they intended to target. Put simply, they didn’t care about the harm they intended to cause our communities.
“However, they were extremely naïve in their actions and continued to carry on, seemingly believing that they couldn’t and wouldn’t be caught.
“When their phones were examined, we were able to link them all together and build a case that meant they had to admit what they’d done.
“We will continue working to bring such criminals to justice.”
- Crime prevention advice regarding burglary – including how to protect your home – can be found by visiting https://www.leics.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/protect-home-crime/keep-burglars-out-property/
- Advice on how to prevent car and vehicle theft can be found by visiting https://www.leics.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/keeping-vehicles-safe/preventing-car-vehicle-theft/