Two men who robbed cars from family homes in Ellesmere Port have been jailed.
Noel Ryan, 23, of Wilkinson Street, Ellesmere Port and Stephen Fraser, 30, of Haldon Road, Manchester were sentenced to four years and six months and five years jail time respectively after pleading guilty to charges related to conspiring to commit burglaries and conspiracy to handle stolen goods The pair appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday, August 22.
The charges related to multiple offences that took place over two nights in August last year. At the sentencing, the court heard how on Sunday, August 8, 2021, the pair began a string of burglaries.
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That Sunday, at around 11pm, the pair targetted an address on Pipers Lane, Chester. The victim was alerted by their doorbell camera which showed a man in a baseball cap trying their front and back door handles.
Later on, at around 12.30am the next morning, the pair gained entry to an address on Baker Drive, Ellesmere Port, where they stol car keys to a Renault Megane and Mini Countryman which were parked on the driveway.
Just 45 minutes later, he offenders used a VW Golf-R, previously stolen from Manchester, to drive to an address on Grace Road, Ellesmere Port. Fraser then entered the building and took the keys for a Vauxhall Vivaro van parked outside, before fleeing.
Two days later, at around 3am on Wednesday, August 11, a man living on Dunkirk Drive, Ellesmere Port woke up to find the pair had entered his house to steal car keys. He then discovered that his Nissan Qashqai and Nissan Juke had been stolen.
The pair then travelled to Park Road, Ellesmere Port, and broke into an address there, stealing cash and a number of items, including the keys to a Fiat 500 which they then drove away from the property. They used a VW Tiguan, also previously stolen from Manchester, to drive to the property.
Following a police investigation, a majority of the stolen vehicles were recovered at various locations in Ellesmere Port and Manchester shortly after. Both Ryan and Fraser were forensically linked to a number of stolen cars and had access to additional stolen cars from the Manchester area.
Footage on Ryan's phone also showed Fraser driving dangerously in the stolen VW Golf-R at around 5pm on Saturday, July 24. He was given an additional six months for the offence.
Detective Constable Stuart Wood, of Cheshire Police, said: "Throughout this investigation it was clear that Fraser and Ryan held no considerations for the law or the families they were stealing from.
“They targeted houses in the early hours whilst the occupants were asleep, with no regard as to how this would impact the victims. Understandably, these callous crimes have left the families feeling unsafe in their own homes.
“Thankfully due to the evidence gathered, the pair had no option but to plead guilty and as a result are now facing the consequences of their actions.
“We will continue to relentlessly pursue criminals, and I hope that the sentences handed to Fraser and Ryan provides reassurance to local residents and act as a warning to other offenders who are planning to come to Cheshire to commit crime.”
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