Bridport charity tin thief jailed for over three years
He stole from across West Dorset
A prolific burglar and thief who targeted businesses across West Dorset has been jailed for a total of three years and 146 days.
Reece Wilson, 22 and of Court Close in Bridport, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Monday 20 December 2021 after pleading guilty at earlier hearings to five counts of burglary other than dwelling, four shoplifting offences, one dwelling burglary, one count of criminal damage and one count of burglary other than dwelling with intent. He also asked for 24 similar offences to be taken into consideration.
The first burglary offence occurred overnight between Tuesday 31 August and Wednesday 1 September 2021 at a food kiosk on the quayside in West Bay, Bridport. Charity tins, a small amount of change and food items were stolen.
A second offence occurred overnight between Friday 17 September and Saturday 18 September 2021 at Washeteria Laundrette in South Street in Bridport, when entry was forced to the premises and the coin trays of eight machines were removed and emptied.
Entry was also forced to an ice cream kiosk in West Bay over the same time period with a quantity of cash stolen.
A fourth offence was committed on the evening of Monday 11 October 2021 at a barbershop in Ilminster in Avon and Somerset, where a charity collection box was stolen.
During the evening of Wednesday 13 October 2021 a burglary occurred at a residential property in Charmouth. The vulnerable victim – a local man aged in his 60s – had his jacket stolen, which contained a bank card and keys, as well as cash, a mobile phone and items of food. Wilson was known to the victim after he carried out work at his address during the summer.
Three of the shoplifting offences were committed at Co-op in Bridport between Thursday 16 September and Friday 1 October 2021 and a fourth offence occurred at Phone and Vape in West Street, Bridport, on Saturday 25 September 2021.
Wilson’s crime spree was mainly committed over an eight-week period. He was identified from CCTV footage obtained from the premises and was also forensically linked to a number of the crime scenes via fingerprints.
A wanted public appeal was issued in relation to finding Wilson in connection with the offences and he was subsequently arrested on Thursday 14 October 2021.
Prior to the eight-week crime spree, Wilson admitted entering The Arcade in Charmouth on Sunday 20 September 2020 with intent to steal.
Detective Constable Lynda Soutine, of Weymouth CID, said: “Reece Wilson was responsible for committing a large number of offences and we were relentlessly committed to identifying and apprehending him for these crimes.
“We worked collectively in order to gather all the available evidence to bring Wilson before the court.
“Burglary and shoplifting offences have a significant impact on our business community and we hope this investigation and court case will further reassure them that we will do all we can to bring offenders to justice.”