Suspended prison sentence “slap in the face” following workshop burglary

Mechanic voices disappointment at UK justice system after being left without tools of the trade

Suspended prison sentence “slap in the face” following workshop burglary
Clacton Car and MOT centre in Clacton-on-Sea. Image: Google Street View.

A technician who waited almost two years for a thief who raided his garage workshop to face justice has voiced his anger after the criminal dodged a prison sentence.

Dean McDermott worked at Clacton Car and MOT centre in Clacton-on-Sea when thieves ransacked the business in September 2017.

Tools and equipment, worth in the region of £30,000, were stolen after burglars smashed their way through a window.

Kieron Milligan appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court after admitting burglary and fraud.

He was sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for two years, ordered to complete a 50 day rehabilitation activity requirement and to undertake 120 hours of unpaid work.

“They took everything they could sell”

Mr McDermott said: “They took everything they could sell, anything they saw.

“They even raided the fridge.

“How can someone do this amount of financial damage to people and get away with it?

“He has a drugs problem, I get that is difficult, but that isn’t my fault.”

Many of the stolen tools and equipment were purchased by Mr McDermott over the course of 15 years.

He added: “I am paying the price for this, not him.

“It angers me that he is walking free.

“What kind of justice system do we have if you can get away with stealing thousands of pounds worth of hard work?

“It makes me feel like giving up working”

“It makes me feel like giving up working, becoming a crack head and stealing for my living.

“Rehabilitation and unpaid work is no punishment for this.”

The court accepted Milligan had not acted alone in the raid.

The company running the garage at the time of the theft left the business soon after.

Mr McDermott’s brother has since taken on the business.

Mr MDermott said: “If my brother hadn’t come in to take over I would probably be out of work.

“It is a choice in life to get up and go to work, just like it is a choice to take drugs.”

GW reader, Ken Lister said: “And they say crime does not pay.

“30k worth of damage to a small business and in reality the thieving little muppet has got away with it.

“The legal system in this country is a joke.”

Craig Ross commented on GW saying: “Imagine if the same thief broke into a judge, magistrates or social worker’s home and caused the same amount of damage and stole £30,000 of their property.

“I am sure the sentence wouldn’t be so lenient.”

Share your comments below.

Home Page Forums Suspended prison sentence “slap in the face” following workshop burglary

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #178478 Reply

    A technician who waited almost two years for a thief who raided his garage workshop to face justice has voiced his anger after the criminal dodged a p
    [See the full post at: Suspended prison sentence “slap in the face” following workshop burglary]

    #178510 Reply
    Richard Bruce
    Guest

    someone who commits a crime and destroys lives should be shot at dawn, very little cost to the government and eventually we get rid of scum

    #178512 Reply
    M Bracey
    Guest

    We were burgled a long time ago the same thing happened totally cleared us out over a new year break, they caught the guy who was storing our tools and equipment he would not let on who stole it.

    Shared the Lift with the toe rag, from the second floor of Bristol Crown Court, before he got on the bus home !

    I feel your pain !

    #178513 Reply
    stephen miller
    Guest

    I’ve had numerous thefts over the years, most with good cctv but the police don’t want to know!
    all they do is give you a crime number!
    In one incident the alarm company called me and said police had been called, i got there within minutes, then waited over ‘FOUR HOURS’ for the police to arrive, despite several phone calls to them no one ever turned up!!!
    It seems there is no law and you can do what you like and nothing will happen!
    Lets all be criminals and scroungers!!!

    #178514 Reply
    Dave Wilson
    Guest

    My work premises where targeted when a transit van drove to the rear of the workshops and stole 1000 pounds worth of new car battery’s all the footage was recorded on cctv the vehicle had a defective rear plate which one number was unreadable the police said we don’t have the resources to check the data base for the missing letter. what an obsolete load of rubbish!
    I said if I had drove away from a fuel station without paying with the same defective plate you would be knocking at my door.

    #178515 Reply
    Lawrence Wells
    Guest

    The law in this country is not fit for purpose. I just got a letter from crown court saying “not guilty” for a toerag that stole a computer from my garage then tried to blackmail me. Despite being caught red handed and costing me thousands he is now walking the streets looking for another scam. The police have their hands tied by all the human rights for the criminals and the victims just get forgotten.

    #178516 Reply
    Don
    Guest

    It’s an unfortunate truth, the system is broken, not that the laws are not their, they are we need an establishment that prosecutes and punishes in a meaningful way. And by that I mean everything from the smallest misdemeanor upwards. A free society has to have rules and the establishment should enforce those rules without fear or favor. Unfortunately for our so called free society the establishment cow-towes to the elite and rich and it’s own. And then fails the general population with it’s poor response to the crimes committed against the rest of us. Yes we can have insurance but we shouldn’t have to insure against this type of threat, when you buy a spanner you should only have to buy it once. In 35 years of self employment I have been the victim of break-ins, thefts and threats of violence 17 times in my workshops and no body has ever been prosecuted even when caught and evidence and witness statements are good the establishment has an excuse and the perp walks away. . . . yes the system is Broken

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

LEAVE A REPLY:

Reply To: Suspended prison sentence “slap in the face” following workshop burglary

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Have your say!

1 0

Lost Password

Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.