Four men sentenced following a series of 'sneak in' burglaries that targeted at least 48 victims

Two men have been jailed and two others handed suspended sentences for a series of 46 ‘sneak in’ burglaries that targeted at least 48 victims across care homes, schools, doctor’s surgeries and even hospices. Around a fifth of these incidents happened in Lincolnshire.

Over a two-year period between 2023 and 2024, the co-conspirators targeted vulnerable organisations in 13 different counties that spanned mainly the East and West Midlands, but also reached as far as Dorset and Hampshire.

At Lincoln Magistrates' Court the four were sentenced for conspiracy to commit burglary and fraud:

• Darren Wykes (46) of Kempley Avenue, Coventry, was sentenced to five years and five months.

• George Quinn (57) of Ansty Road, Coventry, was sentenced to five years.

• David Ovington (59) of Skipton Gardens, Coventry, was sentenced to a 21-month term, suspended for two years.

• Daniel Sutherland (40) of Sedgemoor Road, Coventry, was also sentenced to a 21-month term, suspended for two years.

Det Sgt Petty, from Lincolnshire Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said:

"These unscrupulous fraudsters targeted hard-working people doing their utmost for their local communities, using every trick in the book to deceive and manipulate their victims.

"They would callously engineer a spurious scenario to create a situation of panic, taking advantage of the victims while at their most vulnerable, to fraudulently obtain their PIN. But through sheer hard work and dedication and meticulous data analysis, we have been able to bring these offenders to justice.

"For a force with such limited resource, we are delighted to have helped deliver justice for so many victims."

The group’s main tactic would see Wykes unlawfully enter a premises and target unattended bags or jackets to steal purses or wallets. Wykes would call Quinn using unregistered burner phones used exclusively for passing him details of the stolen cards and wallet contents.

Quinn would then call the reception of premises from where the wallet was taken – claiming to be from the bank named on the card, or a police officer – and ask to urgently speak with the person named on any debit cards that Wykes had stolen. He would provide false details on how their purse or wallet had been found, making up spurious stories of having been notified of someone trying to use their cards in various stores.

The victim would check their bag or jacket and find that their purse or wallet was missing, which lent more credibility to Quinn’s false claims. In some cases, they would provide their PIN ‘to be able to reverse these fraudulent transactions’.

While Quinn was making the call, Wykes would be on standby inside a shop using a burner phone. As soon as Quinn provided the PIN, he would buy either expensive electrical items or use the card to obtain high value amounts of foreign currency from current exchange outlets. He would also use stolen driving licences as identification for these transactions.

Wykes was often seen wearing a blue baseball cap and covid mask, making it difficult to cross-check his identity.

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