Chelmsford: Man jailed after probe into keyless car thefts

An investigation into a series of car thefts across Chelmsford has seen a prolific offender brought to justice and sentenced.

Jay Hennessey, 19, of Chelmsford, was jailed on Tuesday 1 May after he admitted to his role stealing numerous cars across the area.

We launched an investigation after a series of vehicle thefts carried out between 30 September and 31 December last year in Chelmsford.

These thefts were all keyless and included the targeting of Ford Fiesta and EcoSport models and Range Rovers.

Evidence gathered showed Hennessy responsible for theft of five of these vehicles, and the further attempted theft of another.

Arrest

Our officers were on patrol shortly before 12.30pm on Saturday 30 December, on the A414 near Radley Green, when a check on a black Ford Fiesta revealed it to be stolen.

The Ford had stopped in a lay-by, but upon the activation of our car’s blue lights it was seen to make off.

A pursuit followed, with the Ford reaching high speeds in a built-up residential area with a 30mph limit.

The vehicle eventually collided with a roadside sign and an electricity box, before the driver fled on foot.

Officers gave chase, arresting Hennessey in nearby Havisham Way.

Our investigation linked him to the theft of vehicles in the Chelmsford area.

Links to stolen vehicles

Screenshots found in his phone detailed the offering of multiple Ford Fiestas and Ford EcoSports for sale.

One of the images featured a white Ford Fiesta stolen from a driveway on 13 October last year, which Hennessey offered for sale.

We were also able to link Hennessey forensically to the theft of a Ford EcoSport on October 19, after finding his fingerprint on a bag left inside the vehicle.

Appearing at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday 2nd April, Hennessey admitted five counts of theft of a motor vehicle and one count of attempted theft.

He further admitted careless driving, driving without insurance and without a valid license and breaching a suspended sentence order.

At the same court on Tuesday 30 April, he was sentenced to 39 months detention in a young offenders' institution.

Further investigations into Ford and Range Rover thefts are ongoing, with a number of arrests made in the Chelmsford area this year.

Across Essex, we are working hard to tackle offences of theft and burglary – and we’re solving more cases.

We solved 54 more robbery offences in the year to February across the county, an increase of 46% year-on-year.

We also solved 668 more theft offences, an increase of 19% across a 12 month period.

'We're making key arrests and tackling vehicle theft'

Detective Chief Inspector Rob Huddleston said:

“Last year we made significant inroads tackling people we believed to be involved in targeting specific models of vehicle in the Chelmsford area.
“This included the key arrest and charges in the case of Hennessey.
“This case involved good police work from the moment of the pursuit being engaged with a suspected stolen Ford model, through to the forensic evidence gathered from some of the vehicles in question.
“It is proof of our commitment to prioritise theft and burglary, as it doesn’t take much of an imagination to picture the distress this type of offending causes to victims across Essex.
“Theft and burglary of any kind are key focuses for us and are never seen as minor crime.
“Work goes on across many teams, often unseen, to identify the perpetrators committing these crimes in our communities and bring them to justice.
“Not only are officers responding to reports of burglaries and theft, working to gather vital evidence and arrest those responsible, but we are also working to reduce the number of burglaries happening by ensuring people across Essex know how to protect their homes, businesses and property, including going door-to-door to share crime prevention tools and advice.
“There are some really simple steps people can take to reduce their risk: Always lock your doors and windows, keep items of value out of view, don’t make it easy to hide at the front of your property and keep sheds and garages locked too.
“This might seem like simple advice, but many burglaries and thefts are opportunistic, so put these measures in place.”

For advice on how to stay safe and protect your home, yourself, your business and your vehicles from crime, please visit our crime prevention pages.

You can also find out more general information about crime, the law and staying safe on our advice and information pages.

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. 

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If you share our values and want to help people, keep people safe and catch criminals, then join us as a police officer, member of staff, special constable or volunteer.

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