Shop theft and motoring offence suspects charged after being spotted by Newark neighbourhood police officers

A man wanted for two years, and two shop theft suspects have been charged after being picked up by neighbourhood officers on patrol.

The three suspects were spotted and arrested shortly after officers started their shift on Wednesday, March 26, while they were out conducting patrols across the town centre.

Officers sighted and stopped Darryl Coulter, Aleasha Hyland, and Matthew Meakin last week, after linking them to a range of offences.

Coulter and Hyland, 41, were both individually suspected of stealing from a number of different Newark shops, at various points between January and February.

Coulter, 36, subsequently pleaded guilty to three charges of shop theft and a separate count of common assault when he appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, March 27.

Coulter, of no fixed address, was ordered to pay nearly £450 worth of fines, compensation and court costs.

Hyland, of Ladybrook Place, Mansfield, was charged with two counts of theft, and has been bailed with conditions to appear at the same court on April 15.

Newark officers also spotted Meakin, 34, during their patrols, who they quickly identified as being a suspect in a driving offence in the Saxondale area in June 2023.

Having been a wanted suspect for nearly two years, Meakin, of Pelham Street, Newark, has now been charged with dangerous driving and remanded in custody, ahead of an appearance at Nottingham Crown Court on April 24.

The three stops came days after the Newark neighbourhood policing team also worked in tandem to catch two shoplifters involved in a series of thefts across the town centre.

Using CCTV from the stores, officers were able to identify Nathan Webb and Daimien Temple, both of no fixed address, who were responsible for carrying out 15 thefts and four thefts respectively, between February and March.

Webb, 33, was detected and detained by plain clothed officers in Newark town centre on March 22, while Temple, 44, was spotted and stopped during another patrol two days later, on March 24.

Webb was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison on March 24 at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court, while Temple was issued with a 16-week sentence, suspended for 12 months, at the same court on March 25.

Inspector Charlotte Ellam, District Commander for Newark and Sherwood, said: “Each of these arrests and the charges that followed came as a result of our officers taking action while they were out in the community.

“These types of patrols, whether uniformed or plain clothed, are an invaluable tool our neighbourhood team uses each day to identify potential criminal activity and make Newark and Sherwood safer.

“It was really pleasing to see the team waste no time at all after starting their shift, with Coulter, Hyland and Meakin all arrested within hours of our officers coming on duty.”