The nine faces of West Midlands car thieves jailed for 16 and a half years
Photos of members of a vehicle gang who have been jailed for a collective 16-and-a-half years for multiple thefts and attempted thefts of vehicles across the West Midlands have been released.
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The nine men were part of a gang of 11 jailed after being sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday following a major investigation into their offending by Staffordshire Police.
The gang were responsible for 43 thefts and attempted thefts of vehicles across Staffordshire, the West Midlands and Derbyshire, with the combined value of the vehicles they targeted estimated to be around £1.1 million.
Between January 7 and April 8 2022, the gang worked together to target 26 different vehicles, including Land Rover Defenders, Range Rover Evoques, a Volkswagen camper van, Ford Transits, quad bikes and others.
They also took a further 11 Range Rovers and tried to take six more between August 14 and October 5 2023.
Through countless hours of tireless detective work to trawl through the evidence, officers from the Staffordshire Police criminal investigations department (CID) were able to secure convictions against those involved, putting a gigantic dent in the organised crime groups responsible for vehicle theft across the region.
Following the sentencing on Friday, Joshua Jackson, 23, of Filey Road, Wolverhampton, was jailed for six years after he admitted conspiracy to steal motor vehicles, while Darren Quilt, 28, of Shearwater Way, Norton Canes, Cannock, was jailed for five years after he admitted two counts of conspiracy to steal motor vehicles.
Samuel Mansell, 32, of Belmont Street, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, was jailed for three years after he admitted conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and Malcolm Halls, 46, of Temple Road, Willenhall, was sentenced to a year and a half in prison after he was found guilty of conspiracy to steal motor vehicles.
Thomas Cotterill, 31, of HM Young Offenders Institution, Warrant Road, Stoke Heath, Shropshire, was jailed for one year after he admitted conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and Joshua Gunter, 21, of Brewer Street, Walsall, was sentenced to one-year imprisonment, suspended for two years, after he was found guilty of conspiracy to steal motor vehicles.
Gareth Arrowsmith, 45, of Turnstone Road, Walsall, was sentenced to one-year imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, after he was found guilty of conspiracy to steal motor vehicles, while Mitchell Sheridan, 26, of Bayliss Avenue, Wolverhampton, was sentenced to 11 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, after he admitted conspiracy to steal motor vehicles.
Finally, Jake Winters, 29, of Hillside Estate, Ruskington, Lincolnshire, is due to be sentenced at a later date after he admitted handling stolen goods.
Read more: Car theft gang jailed for nearly 16 years after spree across Staffordshire and the Black Country
Two other men were sentenced at a separate hearing in December last year.
Detective Constable Steven Davenport, from Staffordshire Police CID, said: “This was a huge investigation involving so many specialists and dedicated officers who have all worked together to put a dangerous gang of criminals before the courts.
“We want to be absolutely clear that vehicle thieves are being targeted robustly, no matter where they go.
“We’re gathering intelligence, speaking to policing colleagues and putting measures in place every day in Staffordshire to go after those involved in the gangs responsible for this type of crime.”
