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Two men who used trackers to steal cars from across the East Midlands and beyond have been jailed for a total of 14 years.
Between February 2019 and July 2019, Warren Francis Patrick Cook, aged 41, and Clint Aron Walters, aged 38, both previously of Northampton, conspired together to steal a number of vehicles in Northamptonshire and Norwich.
Their method involved attaching a magnetic tracking device to a vehicle which they would then be able to track to a specific location.
When they were ready to then steal the vehicle in question, Walters and Cook would send an SMS to the tracking device and in turn, the device would return the co-ordinates of its current location.
The pair would then travel to the location using a vehicle on cloned or stolen plates, burgle the property connected to the tracked vehicle to get access to the keys, and then steal it.
The pair stole vehicles from across the county including a Volkswagen Golf in Earls Barton, a BMW 1 Series in Great Doddington, an Audi RS3 in Guilsborough and a Peugeot 207 in Northampton. They also stole an Audi S3 in Norwich.
In total, 12 burglaries were committed with other items taken on some occasions including designer wear and jewellery.
Following a complex investigation into the offences led by Northamptonshire Police’s Burglary Team, Cook and Walters were arrested and subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit burglary.
After pleading guilty to the offences at Northampton Crown Court, both men returned to the same court on October 11 to be sentenced.
Cook was sentenced to six years and six months in prison and Walters was sentenced to seven years and six months.
Detective Inspector Al Rooney from the Force’s Burglary Team said: “I am really pleased to see both Cook and Walters handed lengthy sentences as it sends a clear message that committing these offences in Northamptonshire is a one-way ticket to prison.
“This series of crimes was a well-organised and well-planned operation, however despite that, we were able to identify these two men as the offenders and bring them to justice.
“I’d like to thank Detective Sergeant Howes and Crime Analyst - Kate McCafferty, for their work on this investigation. They both did an amazing job and this result is a testament to their hard work.
“We will continue working hard to ensure more people like Walters and Cook are sent to prison for their crimes.”