Three men charged in connection with string of Basildon burglaries
A number of shops were rammed into by burglars across the town last week
Last updated 28th Sep 2024
Three men have been charged by Essex Police in connection with a string of burglaries in Basildon last week.
The incidents took place over the course of the week, with the first report coming on September 16th.
In the first burglary, officers were alerted to a car that had rammed into a shop in Town Square, causing immense damage to the building.
However, this was not the only incident that took place during the week, as on September 20th, a number of other similar rammings were reported to police.
All collisions took place in the early hours of the morning between 3am and 5am, with each involving driving a vehicle into shops, with suspects attempting to get access to the buildings themselves.
The car involved in each incident was believed to be a silver SUV vehicle, which significantly damage properties on Ballards Walk, Wrexham Road, Austen Road and Britannia Court.
Investigations into the break-ins were launched and following lines of enquiry, CCTV was obtained of the suspects, who were arrested on Wednesday (September 25th).
Following this, the three men were charged in connection with the incidents, as well as other robberies that took place in previous months.
Robert Blackmore, 35, of Butneys, in Basildon, with four counts of burglary between 10 and 16 August.
He is also charged with one count of theft on 17 August, alongside Thomas Wallace, 36, of Middle Crockerford, Basildon.
Ricky Wilson, 30, of Pattiswick Square, Basildon, has been charged with three counts of burglary.
Speaking following the announcement of the charges, Detective Sergeant James McLean-Brown from Essex Police said:
"This is clearly a significant step forward in the investigation into this series of offences, which has significantly impacted numerous businesses in our town.
"These arrests and the charges are the result of some really intensive work, most notably from Basildon CID, which included reviewing many hours of CCTV footage, making sure all forensic opportunities and ultimately identifying three people we believe to have been responsible.
"We’re acutely aware of the impact upon the businesses in this case and we’ll be working with them to ensure they continue to be supported as they move forward."