Thieves caught in Newark receive suspended sentence after £4k worth of Lego stolen
Thieves who stole over £4,000 of Lego kits have been banned from B&M stores and face jail if they re-offend.
The three men were caught in the Newark area after a police officer spotted a vehicle full of toys.
Checks found the vehicle was wanted in connection with the Lego thefts and the vehicle was stopped as it travelled along the A17.
All three male occupants were then arrested and later charged with three counts of theft.
The thefts occurred at stores in Worksop, Mansfield and Netherfield in the space of two days an on each occasion, CCTV showed three men wearing baseball caps entering the stores during opening hours and taking reusable shopping bags, before filling them up with Lego products and walking out without paying.
Conlon McDonagh, 22, of Gregory Road, Southall, Ealing, Tom McDonagh, 22, of Greenwood Avenue, Enfield and Patrick Ward, 22, of Gregory Road, Southall pleaded guilty to all the charges after appearing at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Friday (September 2).
The court heard the first theft took place at the B&M store in Bridge Place, Worksop, at around 5pm on Monday, August 29. One of the men distracted staff while the other two stole nearly £650 worth of Lego from the shelves.
At 8pm on the same evening, the trio targeted the B&M store in Baums Lane, Mansfield, filling up four large bags with Lego products worth approximately £1,000 before leaving without paying.
The next day, they went even further and took almost £3,000 worth of Lego products and toys from the B&M store at Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield.
On this occasion, a shop assistant challenged them as they were leaving. One of thieves swore at her before they all fled in a car.
Having been caught the following day, the men were put before the courts and were each jailed for 18 weeks, suspended for 12 months. It means they must not commit any further offences in order to stay out of prison.
The trio were also banned from entering any B&M store in England and Wales for a year.
Sergeant Antony Coleman, who oversaw the investigation, said: "Thanks to the instincts of the patrolling officers whose suspicions were aroused by the considerable amount of Lego in the vehicle, these brazen thieves were all swiftly caught.
"They travelled to Nottinghamshire to commit these high-value thefts, thinking they could get away with it. They were wrong.
"Due to the dedication and professional work of the force's Prisoner Handling Team, the courts have been able to deal with the matter in a timely manner.
"We continue to treat shop thefts seriously and our proactive work to combat this issue is ongoing including targeted operations in hot-spot areas, increased patrols and working closely with businesses and local authorities to reduce retail crime."
