Pair who raided empty homes sent to prison (From Worcester News)
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Pair who raided empty homes sent to prison
1:00pm Tuesday 6th September 2011 in News
TWO men who drove round rural Worcestershire to target and raid empty homes have been jailed for a total of eight-and-a-half years.
But a worrying feature of the case is that three shotguns were among the stolen property and they have refused to say where they are.
Recorder Michael Edwards said the weapons could be used for carrying out very dangerous crime.
Prosecutor Stephen Davies said Stephen McGoldrick and Lee Walters had refused to co-operate with police.
McGoldrick, aged 32, of Picton Croft, Solihull, was jailed for five years. His accomplice, 34-year-old Lee Walters, of Ipswich Walk, Chelmsley, Birmingham, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years.
Both were disqualified from driving for two years.
McGoldrick had pleaded guilty immediately to the six burglaries but Walters was convicted after a three-day trial at Worcester Crown Court.
The shotguns were stolen from a house in Norchard Lane, Peopleton, near Pershore, on June 1 last year. The shotgun cabinet, electrical and computer equipment was also stolen.
In the days which followed, there were raids on homes in Hawthorn Rise, Tibberton, near Droitwich, Walton Road and Malvern Road, both Bromsgrove.
Two houses in Warwickshire were also burgled.
Walters claimed that he was only the driver and look-out while McGoldrick entered the premises. His five-year-old Ford Focus was spotted on automatic number plate recognition cameras and the recorder ordered it should be confiscated.
Mr Davies said the total amount of property stolen was more than £10,000.
Oliver Woolhouse, for McGoldrick, who admitted 22 convictions for 54 offences, had resorted to crime to pay for drugs.
He had offended 12 weeks after being released from a previous sentence.
Walters had written letters expressing his remorse, said Tariq Shakoor, defending. He had 14 convictions for 21 offences but had relapsed into crime through taking heroin.
