Southend: Man jailed over robbery and handling stolen car

An offender who was tied to a stolen vehicle thanks to forensic work has been jailed more than two years after he was also linked to an attack on a traffic warden.

On 26 December 2022, a civil enforcement officer approached a black Nissan car in Elmer Avenue, Southend.

She noticed the car was parked without a valid permit and issued a ticket.

The officer was approached by Danny Rynne, 33, who immediately requested that she revoke the penalty notice.

Rynne became increasingly irate, making verbal threats including stating that he would throw faeces and urine over her.

The officer felt enough fear for her safety to press a personal alarm to call for help.

At this point the threats turned physical, and Rynne grabbed the officer’s hand and snapped her body-worn camera off its holder.

He walked away with the camera while continuing to hurl verbal insults.

We were alerted and, thanks to the work of officers, tied the black Nissan to a theft reported on 11 December 2022.

The victim had reported her black Nissan stolen from her driveway in Southend.

The seized vehicle was found to be displaying false plates, with Rynne’s fingerprints located on another number plate recovered from the inside of the car.

Rynne was arrested and charged with robbery of the enforcement officer and handling stolen goods.

He proceeded to deny both offences despite the evidence against him and a lengthy wait for trial resulted.

The case was listed for trial at Basildon Crown Court and on Thursday 13 March, Rynne, of Elmer Avenue, Southend, was promptly convicted on both counts.

He was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment.

Justice served two years on

Officer in the case Detective Constable Mark Sawyer said:

“This was unacceptable threatening behaviour and violence shown towards someone in a public-facing job.
“No-one deserves to be abused, insulted and attacked while going about their work.
“After the culprit refused to accept responsibility, the victim was made to wait years to see justice served.
“That time has finally come, and I would praise the victim for her strength and courage throughout this lengthy process.
“Despite a wait of more than two years, we continued to support the victim through a trial and the strength of our evidence remained clear to a jury.
“The fact this offender was sent to prison shows that strong sentences will still be handed out for serious offending like robbery and vehicle theft-related matters, even a substantial amount of time later."

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