Jail for Peterborough thief stole who from cars and breached suspended sentence

Paul English, 40, was seen by members of the public lurking around cars in Hawksbill Way in the early hours of October 18.

Witnessing him looking through windows and trying door handles, police were called and found English and 48-year old Junior Modest, despite them trying to hide.

A purse not belonging to either of the men was found under a car they were hiding by, and Modest was seen to throw a skateboard on the floor.

The pair were arrested and enquiries revealed the skateboard had been stolen from the front garden of a house in Hawksbill Way just moments before police arrived.

Both men were charged with two counts of theft from a vehicle – money and a purse – as well as theft by finding of the skateboard, and were remanded to appear in court the following day (October 19) where they were further remanded in prison.

On October 26, they appeared at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court where Modest, of Barnstock in Bretton, Peterborough, was ordered to pay a £120 fine after admitting the offences, and was released from prison.

English initially denied the offences and was sent to trial, but later changed his pleas.

On Friday (December 3), he appeared at Cambridge Crown Court where he was sentenced for the three theft offences as well as possession of cannabis, failing to answering bail (relating to an arrest in September) and breaching a suspended sentence for aggravated vehicle taking earlier this year.

English, of The Drive, Peterborough, was sentenced to a year and one week in prison.

PC Jake Ficken, who investigated, said: “My plea to people is to make sure your vehicle is locked before leaving it unattended as opportunistic thieves such as English and Modest will chance their luck and try door handles until they come across one which is unlocked, taking whatever they can get their hands on.

“I would also like to remind people of the importance of dialling 999 if you think a crime is happening – thanks to the residents acting on their suspicions, we were able to catch the pair in the act.”