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Lee Edwards (06/08/1974), of The Green, Norley Hall, Wigan was found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
His accomplices, Louis Coleman (27/7/1978), of Logwood Place, Wigan and Sean Chaplin (02/03/1982), of Laxey Crescent, Leigh, admitted conspiracy to commit burglary.
At Liverpool Crown Court today, Friday 27 July 2012, Edwards was sentenced to seven years, Coleman to three years and Chaplin to three years.
Between 23 October 2011 and 5 December 2011, the three conspired to commit a series of burglaries in the Wigan area.
All offences were committed overnight while the victims were home. The offenders would break into the properties and steal keys to vehicles parked outside. Various other personal possessions were also stolen during the burglaries.
In total 13 cars worth approximately £130,000 were stolen. Most have since been recovered from one of three locations in the Wigan area - Trenchfield Mill, Wigan, Linden Court, Orrell and Herons Wharf - all of which have communal car parks. They were left there deliberately in an attempt to ensure that they were not identified or considered out of place.
Detective Inspector Graham Atherton, from the Volume Crime Team in Wigan, said: ⿿In the space of approximately six weeks the trio conspired to steal from numerous innocent families across Wigan.
“There is no doubt that Edwards was main architect of this criminal enterprise but due to the dedication of staff at the Volume Crime Team we have stopped them in their tracks and recovered the majority of the cars stolen
“Knowing someone has broken into your home and stolen your belongings can have a significant impact on victims and that is why tackling serious acquisitive crime, such as burglary, is a top priority for officers across Wigan and Greater Manchester.
“I hope today’s sentence not only reassures the local community that we will work tirelessly to identify and bring organised crime gangs to justice but also acts as a warning to offenders that we will come after you and when caught you face a considerable spell behind bars.”
