No snooze control! Gang who stole £500,000 of luxury cars from outside homes are jailed for total of 15 years… after police find snap of one of them ASLEEP in stolen vehicle
- Kieran Gordon, Joshua Birch, both 22, and Imad Kaid, 21, have all been jailed
- Trio stole 20 cars including Audis, Mercedes and Range Rovers from driveways
- Police found picture of Gordon sleeping in stolen Nissan Juke on Birch’s phone
Gordon, pictured in a stolen Nissan Juke, was part of a gang targeting cars from quiet residential streets across the West Midlands
Three members of a gang who stole £500,000 worth of luxury cars have been jailed after police found pictures of them asleep and posing in the vehicles.
Detectives also found fingerprints from one of the men on a stash of stolen comics which had been dumped in one of the cars.
Kieran Gordon, Joshua Birch, both 22, and Imad Kaid, 21, snapped door locks to force their way into at least 16 homes in the West Midlands to steal car keys.
Between February and September 2017, the gang took 20 cars, including Audis, Mercedes and Range Rovers from driveways.
They targeted the high-value cars from quiet residential streets and cul-de-sacs in the Sandwell and Dudley areas of the West Midlands.
Many of the cars were later recovered by West Midlands Police, including a Nissan Juke taken from outside a home in Lynbrook Close, Netherton.
It was stolen in the early hours of April 24 and seized after a pursuit three days later.
Officers found a holdall inside the car containing collectable comics – stolen during the theft of an Audi in Ribberford Close, Cradley, on April 27.
Gordon’s fingerprints were found on the comics, including copies of The Beezer, as well as valuables stolen from a house in Droitwich the same day.
Birch, of Netherton, was arrested the next day and police found an Audi key which had been stolen.
Police also found this photograph of Joshua Birch sitting in one of the stolen cars
They also found pictures on his phone showing Gordon asleep in the Nissan Juke.
He was bailed but re-arrested on May 25 and Gordon, of Cradley Heath, was detained on June 1.
Gordon and Kaid were arrested on the night of November 21 after police responded to reports of a break-in attempt in Hagley Road West, Quinton.
They were stopped in Kaid’s A3 driving away from the scene and a Vauxhall Corsa stolen from an address in Stourbridge days earlier was found nearby.
Police searched Kaid’s home in Colley, West Midslands, where they found a stolen MacBook which he had changed the profile name to ‘Robin Banks.’
The trio all admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal motor vehicles at Birmingham Crown Court.
Birch was jailed for five years four months, Gordon for five years and Kaid sentenced to four years ten months.
Gordon’s fingerprints were found on these collectable comics, including copies of The Beezer, that were in a car stolen from Droitwich
Investigating officer Detective Constable Darren Barnes, said: ‘Their tactic was to snap locks on rear doors in the middle of the night and to sneak into properties to steal keys.
‘No-one was hurt but the trauma of knowing someone has been in your house while you’re sleeping can’t be underestimated – and some victims woke to find their cars being driven off by the gang.
‘These individuals were causing a lot of misery to residents across Sandwell, Dudley and further afield and people can certainly sleep more soundly knowing that they have been put behind bars for a significant period of time.’