A member of a gang of car thieves who stole an estimated £500,000 of high value vehicles around Bristol has been jailed.
Anthony Rodriguez-Taylor was identified committing break-ins both by DNA and distinctive clothing. Bristol Crown Court heard in one raid a stolen Mini Cooper was used to smash into a garage and the gang also used blow torches and jemmies to force entry.
Rodriguez-Taylor, 22, of Sea Mills, pleaded guilty to three burglaries, an attempted burglary, theft, a non-dwelling burglary and aggravated vehicle taking. He asked for 27 similar offences to be considered.
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Judge Mark Horton jailed him for three years and seven months. He told Rodriguez-Taylor: "I have to sentence you for a vast number of extremely serious offences, offences that are aggravated significantly by the fact that these were acts of professional and planned burglaries by a group of sophisticated criminals targeting, in particular, high value vehicles."
Rodriguez-Taylor was banned from driving for 40 months and ordered to take an extended driving test. He had available assets of £1,147.50 confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Alex Daymond, prosecuting, said the defendant was linked to a house burglary in Barton St David in which property and cash was grabbed as the occupants slept upstairs. Police found Rodriguez-Taylor's DNA on a screwdriver and established his phone had been at the scene.
Rodriguez-Taylor was also involved in burgling a home in Abbots Leigh. Police, who established an intruder had a drink with him, spotted the defendant in a Co-op at Pill and tied him to the burglary by the top he was wearing as captured on CCTV.
The court heard Rodriguez-Taylor was also involved in an attempted burglary in Abbotts Leigh where keys were taken. He admitted a burglary in Abbotts Leigh in which a Mini Cooper was stolen and then used to ram into a garage in a failed bid to steal a motocross bike which had been moved elsewhere.
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Rodriguez-Taylor asked for a plethora of offences to be considered involving the theft of mainly Audi and VW cars from properties in Bristol as well as Somerset and Wiltshire. When arrested he admitted having drug dependency but then made no comment.
Emily Evans, defending, said: "He is well aware he is facing a lengthy custodial sentence as a result of the part he played in these offences. He was not acting alone, others were with him on every occasion."
Miss Evans said her remorseful client had a difficult childhood, suffered from ADHD and had started offending at a "tender age". She said Rodriguez-Taylor wished to wipe the slate clean to ensure no other offences came back to bite him.
Lead Investigating Officer, PC Jim Card, from the Burglary Focus Team on Op Remedy, said: "Significant time and effort went into this investigation over several months. This is a great result for the team and justice for those victims who, not only had their possessions stolen, but also had their homes broken into and their privacy breached.
"An investigation to identify further offenders is still ongoing but it would appear Rodriguez-Taylor was a key member of the gang as, after he was placed on remand in February 2022, the offending considerably slowed down."
