Two Bristol men have been jailed for conspiracy to burgle a warehouse in Salisbury. John Wright, 42, of Orlebar Gardens, Lawrence Weston, and Ross Pinnock, 36, of Whitehouse Lane, Bedminster, both entered a guilty plea on the day their trial was due to begin at Salisbury Crown Court.
On July 18, 2020, the men were seen acting suspiciously near Booker Wholesale warehouse on Netherhampton Road in Salisbury, and were spotted shortly afterwards in nearby fields by a member of staff. They were then tracked by a PCSO using a drone.
Officers subsequently found and arrested both men. Wright and Pinnock denied any involvement or knowledge of the conspiracy throughout the course of the investigation, but their accounts changed multiple times.
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Police said enquiries disproved each account provided by them and further investigations involving DNA and phone calls and data proved their direct involvement and intentions. Further to this, torches, gloves, balaclavas, cutting tools and a large disc cutter were found in a nearby van belonging to Wright.
The men appeared at Salisbury Crown Court on August 24. After entering their guilty pleas, Wright was jailed for 13-and-a-half months and Pinnock for nine months.
Detective Constable Martyn Powell, of Wiltshire Police, said "On receipt of this report, officers were deployed and guided into the area by the reporting party and a PCSO who had located the suspects via their police drone. Wright and Pinnock were located near to Booker Wholesale and were arrested, preventing them from leaving the area and continuing their actions.
"Evidence from the enquiries conducted indicated their direct involvement and that they had just taken the first step in their plan to return later under the cover of darkness and break into the premises to steal. The decisive actions of the officers attending the scene laid the groundwork for a technical investigation involving multiple departments within Wiltshire Police.
"I hope that this court result acts as a deterrent to people thinking of coming to Salisbury to commit crime and helps to provide reassurance to local people that, where able, we will take action to prevent crime from occurring and pursue those responsible."
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