Couple jailed for £1m burglary spree
Court hears Luke Wall, 24, and his partner Teresa Connors, 21, were part of a gang which carried out 102 burglaries across the south east
Luke Wall, 24, and his partner Teresa Connors
By Agency
12:15PM BST 19 Jun 2015
A couple who posed in a luxury hotel penthouse with loot from £1 million burglaries have been jailed.
Luke Wall, 24, and his partner Teresa Connors, 21, boasted as they went on the run from police following a spate of 102 burglaries across the south east.
When officers finally caught up, Wall rammed a police motorcycle and a police car in two attempts to escape justice.
But on Friday he was finally jailed for eight years after admitting conspiracy to burgle at Ipswich Crown Court.
Connors, a mother-of-three, was jailed for eight months for her involvement having admitted the same charge.
Judge John Devaux, sentencing, said: "All of you played a part in a campaign of burglary of houses covering a wide area between March and September of last year over some 100 properties
"It is likely that others not before the court today also took part."
The court heard how the couple had driven across the south east in high-end stolen cars whilst moving from hotel room to hotel room whilst on the run from police.
The couple, from Tilbury, Essex, had made no attempt to hide the £970,000 their criminal gang had netted following a spate of burglaries during a six-month period between March and September last year.
Wall - alongside other members of his criminal gang - would often run taps and block up sinks to purposely flood houses, a trick made famous by the 'Wet Bandits' in 1990s Christmas classic Home Alone.
One photo shows Wall laying back on the bed of a London penthouse hotel suite wearing just a bath robe and baseball cap with wads of cash in either hand.
The pair went on the run after ignoring Crown court bail conditions back in June last year and continued to burgle houses along the way.
Police caught up with Wall on June 9 last year along the M11 in Cambridgeshire but the shameless crook reversed into a police motorcycle before speeding off.
Wall repeated the trick three days later when stopped by police on the M25 in Hertfordshire - forcing a police officer to dive over a safety barrier to avoid being hit.
Following sentencing, Inspector Paul Maleary said: "The investigation team brought about conspiracy evidence for more than 100 burglaries committed by different members of this group.
"I suspect that they probably committed many more.
"Wall in particular showed a blatant disregard for their victims' feelings as often sentimental items of jewellery were stolen that have not been recovered.
"He drove so dangerously on a number of occasions when police attempted to stop him and placed the police and the public in such danger that any pursuit was immediately cancelled on the grounds of public safety.
"The Essex Police western CID proactive team led the investigation and worked alongside colleagues from across the region - including Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire police forces - to bring about this prosecution.
"The Eastern Region Specialist Operations Unit took on the manhunt and arrest of this group due to the effect they were having on the residents of the whole Eastern region."
Other gang members to be jailed in relation to the £1 million burglary spree included Joseph Mahon, 20, from Cambridge, who was jailed for three years and four months after admitting conspiracy to burgle.
Kyle Shillingford, 27, of no fixed address, was jailed for two years and four months after admitting the same charge.
Robert Butler, 31, from Romford, east London, had denied conspiracy to commit burglary but was convicted at trial and was jailed for seven years.
The court heard only £159,000 has been recovered from the £970,000 total of stolen property.
