Colchester: Man charged with two aggravated burglaries

UPDATE 1.40pm Tuesday 27 August:

A man has been charged with two counts of aggravated burglary after officers responded to two incidents in Colchester.

He further faces a charge of possessing a knife in a public place.

Jahziah Khan, 19, of no fixed address, appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday 26 August, where he was remanded in custody until a hearing at Ipswich Crown Court on Monday 23 September.

This follows two burglaries reported overnight on Saturday 25 August, in Mersea Road and the nearby Blackheath.

On both occasions callers reported finding an intruder inside their address armed with a knife.

Officers attended and made an arrest after carrying out an area search.

Sunday 25 August

Officers responding to reports of a burglar entering properties armed with a knife in Colchester made a swift arrest and recovered suspected stolen goods.

We first received a call at around 11.45pm on Saturday 25 August, reporting an intruder inside an address in Mersea Road.

The caller reported he was armed with a knife and had since left the property.

Officers were quickly on the scene carrying out an area search and a description of the suspect was taken.

Shortly after 1.05am, while our enquiries were continuing, we received a further call from a member of the public in Blackheath, Colchester, reporting an ongoing burglary at her address.

She told us she had heard a noise which had woken her up, before she saw an intruder in her property.

We stayed on the line with the victim as officers responded.

A short time later, by 1.14am, we stopped and detained a man in a nearby road, recovering a knife.

A computer tablet, believed to have been taken from an address, was also recovered.

A 19-year-old man remains in custody for questioning on suspicion of aggravated burglary.

Enquiries into both burglaries will continue today (Sunday 25 August).

'We're committed to tackling burglary'

Temporary Detective Inspector Grant Handley said:

“These were very alarming reports and understandably left the victims shaken.
“They did exactly the right thing in calling 999 and asking for the police, ensuring they didn’t put themselves in any further danger.
“We take any calls of this nature extremely seriously, as our quick response and arrest shows, and we will be progressing our investigation into both incidents throughout the weekend.
“We’re committed to tackling burglary in all of its forms. It is one of the most violating and disturbing offences we deal with and our officers understand the importance of prioritising attendance at these incidents.”

Did you know we have a few different ways you can contact us?

If you would like to report a non-emergency crime, antisocial behaviour, or give us information, you can report online or by use our Live Chat service.

To find out more about our different reporting services, 999 BSL and much more visit our Help Us Help You page.

At Essex Police we put victims at the heart of everything we do. The Victims’ Code explains the rights that everyone can expect to receive as a victim of crime, and helps us define what we must do for all victims from their initial contact with our force until the conclusion of their case.

Find out more about the code and to understand the rights of a victim of crime, on our Support for victims and witnesses of crime page.

To report a crime, please use our digital 101 service. In an emergency call 999. 

We're offering more ways for our communities to stay up to date with our work across Essex.

Our e-newsletter, Dispatch, delivers news, information, and advice from Essex Police.

Dispatch is a ‘one stop shop’ for local police news – direct from the source. 

Sign up is completely free and you can unsubscribe at any time.