Man charged after string of burglaries
A suspect has been charged over a spree of burglaries in the Black Country and Birmingham.
It comes after a man led police on a chase with officers eventually finding him hiding on an island in the middle of a nature reserve’s lake.
Christopher Straker has been charged with burglaries and also been charged with dangerous driving and failing to stop following a police pursuit.
The 36-year-old, of no fixed address, appeared at Dudley Magistrates Court yesterday morning.
After the police chase on Monday a suspect was discovered shivering in bushes having jumped into water off Birmingham New Road, in Dudley – known locally as Donkey Pool.
It is alleged Straker, of no fixed address, broke into a house in Sovereign Way, in Moseley, shortly after midnight on Monday and stole a VW Polo – before forcing entry into two homes in Walton Road, in Oldbury, where a laptop and alcohol were taken.
He has also been charged with five other burglaries – including one in Russell Street, in Dudley, on June 13, where a BMW was stolen; one in Park Road, Dudley, on May 25; and in Fairfield Road, Dudley, on May 6.
A further two include Clements Road, Yardley, on February 19, and Varden Croft, Balsall Heath, on December 27.
He was charged on Wednesday night by West Midlands Police and was to appear at Dudley Magistrates Court this morning.
