Two men have been sentenced after stealing thousands of pounds worth of electrical transformers from the Tamura depot in Calne.
John Lee (41) from Bourne Lake Park, Cricklade and Craddoc Lee (35) from Scallows Lane travellers’ site, West Wellow, Romsey pleaded guilty to numerous criminal charges at Swindon Crown Court on Tuesday 8 August 2017.
As a result, on Thursday 10 August at the same court, John Lee was sentenced to two years imprisonment and is subject to ongoing seizures under the proceeds of crime act. Craddoc Lee was sentenced to four months imprisonment suspended for 2 years, two hundred hours of unpaid work and a night time curfew for five months.
John Lee pleaded guilty to the following charges:
2 x handling stolen goods – including the transformers and stolen gas cylinders
1 x possessing criminal property – namely a bank balance of £26,000
1 x acquiring criminal property – namely bank deposits of nearly £56,500.
Craddoc Lee pleaded guilty to the following charges:
1 x handling stolen goods – including the transformers and stolen gas cylinders
1 x using criminal property – namely a tipper truck and crane.
Offenders broke into the industrial yard in Calne and stole 56 electrical generators – worth a total of over £30,000 in November 2014. Following on from this find officers were lead to a travellers’ site near Ashton Keynes where a large amount of stolen goods was found, including:
The stolen transformers
1300 bottles of stolen wine and prosecco
Four stolen vehicles, including a flatbed lorry with crane
Stolen Gas canisters
Large amounts of cash
Large quantities of stolen fuels
Det Con Andy Henson said: “From November 2014 a team of detectives has been working on this case which, as it has developed, transpires to have involved a large amount of stolen goods and criminal activity.
“It is due to the hard work of everyone on the team that we have secured these convictions and subsequent sentencing results – which I welcome.
“Both men have been stopped from carrying out crimes for quite some time.
“I hope this result sends a message that crime does not pay and sooner or later we will catch anyone who indulges in such a life-style.”
Sentencing Judge, Mr Recorder Taylor said: “Thanks to good old police work, the trail led to Bourne Lake travellers’ site where the stolen tipper truck and the 56 generators were recovered. I take the view the tipper truck was stolen in order to carry out the theft at Tamura.
“It would have been obvious that the lorry was stolen; it was not displaying any number plates, the signage had been obliterated and the engine had been hot-wired.
“When the police arrived, the engine was still running and it was in process of the of unloading the stolen generators and gas canisters.
“The value of lorry and generators had a combined value of £39,000.
“Subsequent investigations into Mr John Lee’s finances revealed a balance of £26,000 and deposits of over £55,000.
“Both of you denied the offences when interviewed.
“John Lee, you have a history of dishonesty; Craddoc Lee, you are more lightly convicted but have been proven to be dishonest in the past.”
