Manchester car thieves park up in prison
Two robbers jailed after driving at a police officer
Two car thieves who injured a police officer following a collision in Rochdale have been jailed.
Daniel Freeman of Leamington Street, Rochdale was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, assault and driving whilst disqualified.
Colin Graham of Cronkey Shaw Road, Rochdale, was also sentenced to two years in prison for burglary and aggravated vehicle taking.
In the early hours of Friday 4 March, the two men broke into a property on Linnel Drive, Rochdale and took the keys for Mazda on the driveway and fled the scene.
Police caught up with the stolen car on Rooley Moor Road and initially thought that it was going to stop.
As one of the officers stepped out of the van, Freeman accelerated towards him, hitting the van door and knocking the officer backwards.
He spent several weeks in hospital and is yet to make a full recovery.
Detective Constable Russell Clarke, of GMP’s Rochdale borough, said: “Freeman and Graham went out in the early hours of that morning to find a house to burgle and a car to steal.
“The occupants of the house were awoken by the sound of their window being smashed, an experience which they are never going to forget.
“They then drove the vehicle at high speeds before deliberately striking a police van and running over an officer causing him significant injuries.
“It was clear that they were willing to do anything to evade arrest and their selfish actions could have easily ended in the loss of a police officer’s life.
“Freeman and Graham are dangerous individuals who pose a real threat to the community of Rochdale and I hope that the sentence acts as a clear deterrent to anyone who seeks to commit crime on our streets.”
PL