‘He targeted innocent residents’: A Wolverhampton car thief who stole 24 vehicles across the Black Country has been jailed thanks to help from the public

Jake Tinsley, aged 21 stole vehicles worth £240k from addresses across Dudley, Sandwell and Wolverhampton between March and September this year.

On 9 March he targeted an address in Amblecote, where a Range Rover was stolen. 

The window of the vehicle was smashed to gain entry, and an electric device was used to drive the Range Rover away from the address.

ANPR cameras spotted the stolen Range Rover in convoy with a Vauxhall Astra which was used in the theft, which led to a police pursuit.

Officers used a stinger device to bring the Astra to a stop. Following forensic examination, Tinsley’s fingerprints were discovered on the rear-view mirror of the Astra.

Tinsley then went on to commit further offences. Officers from the Dudley Proactive Crime Team linked Tinsley to 26 offences such as robbery and theft of motor vehicles through forensic evidence, witness statements and video footage from ANPR cameras and his own mobile phone.

Tinsley of Hackford Road, Wolverhampton was charged and pleaded guilty to all offences at an earlier hearing. He was sentenced to four years and six months in prison.

‘Thanks to the public’s help’

PC Danny Hingley from Dudley Proactive Crime Team said: “Tinsley helped steal numerous high value cars from Black Country residents.

“Fortunately, thanks to the public’s help, we did manage to recover some of the vehicles stolen and were able to reunite them with their rightful owners.

“Vehicle crime can affect livelihoods as people rely on their vehicles for work and responsibilities. Across his seven month crime spree, Tinsley targeted innocent residents and now is rightfully behind bars.”

For advice about how to keep your vehicles safe visit: Preventing car and vehicle theft | Crime Prevention | West Midlands Police.