West Midlands cashpoint burglars plead guilty bringing trial to a halt
Conspiracy group fitted false plates to stolen cars to carry the raiders to and from locations to cause the authorities difficulty.
A cashpoint burglary conspiracy trial involving sums of more than £500,000 has come to a halt after the four remaining defendants pleaded guilty.
Defendants, David Price, aged 43, of Penn Road, Wolverhampton; Joanne McGregor, of Moat Green Avenue, Wednesfield; Cyrus Dorrington, aged 28, of Otherton Lane, Penkridge; and Adam Walker, of Jonesfield Crescent, Eastfields, Wolverhampton, all initially denied offences of conspiracy to burgle, possessing criminal property, namely money from cash machines, and handling stolen goods in relation to the vehicles. Walker also denied dangerous driving.
But on Thursday all changed to guilty pleas resulting in the jury being discharged.
Two other defendants Darren Percival, aged 49, of Old Heath Crescent, Eastfields; and Martin Steadman, aged 41, of Luce Road, Low Hill, both in Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy guilty earlier in the proceedings. Steadman also pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a Serious Crime Prevention Order.
The case involved 27 incidents across the Midlands region involving burglaries of homes for cars which were later used to raid banks and convenience shops of ATM cash benefitting the defendants to the tune of about £530,000.
High-performance cars stolen from as far as Leicester were used to carry out the attacks across the Black Country, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Wales between February and December last year.
They operated the conspiracy from their base, in Ebstree Road, Seisdon near Wolverhampton where a black Audi stolen during a house burglary in Leicestershire were kept. Unbeknown to the raiders, the vehicle was fitted with a SIM tracker which allowed detectives to work out their movements using automatic number plate technology, despite it being fitted with false licence plates.
Prosecutor Mr John Lloyd-Richards said all six will now be sentenced at a date to be fixed.