Dudley man among seven 'armed and extremely dangerous' men sentenced for string of burglaries
Seven men, described as "armed and extremely dangerous" by police, have been sentenced for a spate of burglaries across the region.
The 17 offences, which included aggravated and car key burglaries, occurred between April 26, 2019 and June 9, 2019 in Hagley and Romsley, near Stourbridge and Halesowen.
One of the seven men, 25-year-old Ryan Steatham, is from Foresters Fold in Dudley, and was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to commit theft of motor vehicles.
20-year-old Dequan Wright, who was last living at HMP Werrington, has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
Haiden Kerr, aged 21 and from Ashley Close in Edgbaston, had previously pleaded guilty to the offences of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to commit theft of motor vehicles and robbery.
He has been sentenced to seven years and four months in prison.
David Shaikh, aged 19 and from Faraday Avenue in Quinton, was handed a four year and two month sentence in a Young Offender Institution.
Aaron Gallagher, aged 20 and also from Faraday Avenue in Quinton, was sentenced to five years and eight months at a Young Offender Institution.
Both Shaikh and Gallagher pleaded guilty to offences conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to commit theft of motor vehicles.
A two week trial then began in which Mohammed Islam, aged 20 from Quinton Road West in Quinton, was found guilty of the offences of committing aggravated burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to commit theft of motor vehicles. He was sentenced to seven years and two months in a Young Offender Institution.
Rikesh Chauhan, aged 33 and from Hembs Crescent in Birmingham, was found guilty of conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and received 21 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.
Detective Sergeant Scott Chivers from West Mercia Police said: "The local community in Hagley and Romsley were understandably concerned as not only were these men stealing from them they were doing so armed and were extremely dangerous.
"Our team worked tirelessly with the victims and the evidence to build a good case against the seven men. We will simply not tolerate burglaries in our community and I hope this sends a strong message to offenders that we will take robust action against those found to be committing crimes of this nature.
"These are significant sentences for young people and I hope it sends a message to other young people that becoming a criminal has severe consequences."
