Five men convicted of nearly £1 million worth of vehicle thefts in Coventry
All five will be sentenced next month.
Five men have been convicted of conspiring to steal nearly £1 million worth of cars and motorcycles in Coventry.
Jason O'Farrell, Kian O'Shea, Deacon Cumberbatch, Tyrone Henn and a teenager were all convicted of being involved in stealing and selling on vehicles in the city.
Between 2022 and 2023 the five were involved in a series of thefts targeting luxury SUVs, cars and motorbikes in and around Coventry.
Their offences included car key burglaries and car-jackings, with the five defendants being charged with a total of 47 separate offences.
The investigation into the thefts was one of the most extensive ever carried out by the Coventry Local Policing Area.
Hours of social media footage and hundreds of mobile phone messages were examined as the team pieced together the identities of the people involved.
Videos of their crimes were posted on social media including photos of a number of stolen vehicles.
Messages sent from Henn to the other members of the group were found in which the 22-year-old complained at the low share of the money generated following one of the thefts.
Henn complained that splitting £2,000 from a theft five ways only left him with £400 from the group's ill-gotten gains.
Throughout their offending, the group even contacted the people whose cars they had taken offering to sell them back.
The five were all arrested following extensive enquiries in Coventry throughout 2023 and 2024, with O'Farrell, O'Shea and a now 18-year-old, who cannot be named due to a court order, pleading guilty on the second day of their trial.
Cumberbatch originally pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea at court to guilty.
Henn also pleaded not guilty, but was convicted on 12 February at Leamington Crown Court. All five will be sentenced in March.
In total, 24 of the stolen vehicles have so far been recovered.
Chief Superintendent Paul Drover, commander of Coventry Local Policing Area, said: “These five young men were among the most wanted offenders in Coventry and were responsible for a staggering amount of offences.
"The thefts, burglaries and car-jackings this group carried out had a devastating impact on the victims, not just financially, but mentally.
"During the investigation we really saw how brazen they all were and their casual attitude towards their offending.
“Officers from teams across the Coventry LPA, especially from our Investigations department, played a huge part in identifying and bringing in these five.
“All the officers involved can be rightly proud of the work they have put in to secure this result.
"Taking these five prolific offenders off the streets will send out a strong message about how seriously we take vehicle crime."
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