Loughton: Burglars caught red-handed after swift response

Two burglars caught red-handed as they tried to raid a home in Loughton have been jailed after officers responded to the call within minutes.

At around 4.05pm on Sunday 23 August, the victim became aware of suspicious activity around his house and dialled 999.

By around 4.20pm, two masked burglars were in handcuffs.

That was thanks to the swift response of nearby patrolling Loughton Local Policing Team officers.

The victim, who had been away from home when the burglars struck, was notified via his security cameras of a man on his property.

Thanks to his quick actions in calling us, our officers were able to catch them in the act.

The burglars, identified as Sergio Prieto, 37, and Juan Martinez Rodgriguez, 40, had gained access to the house via an upstairs window.

They also caused damage to a rear door, rear window and wiring which had been severed in an attempt to cut off the electricity and WiFi at the property.

Martinez-Rodgriguez was arrested as he attempted to flee the back garden.

He was found carrying a range of tools, including a hydraulic press, screwdriver and crowbar.

Prieto was arrested in the hallway of the property. He was carrying garden clippers.

A drone was also recovered from the two offenders.

Following further evidence gathering and questioning conducted by Loughton CID, both men, of no fixed address, were charged with burglary.

They admitted the charges and were each sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment at Chelmsford Crown Court last month.

An investigation into potential further offences is ongoing, led by a specialist team.

Over the past 11 months, we’ve attended every home burglary reported to us.

In September alone, we made 282 arrests for burglary offences. Last month, we made another 224 arrests for residential burglary.

'This is how we treat burglary in Essex'

Chief Superintendent Tim Tubbs, who is the force’s strategic lead for burglary, said:

“We were of course assisted greatly by the victim in this case, thanks in large part to his home security measures and immediate call to us.
“But I hope this case does illustrate how we treat burglary in Essex, particularly when an offence is in progress and a swift emergency response is required.
“The victim felt enough concern at suspicious activity around his address to make the first call to us at around 4pm that day.
“Minutes later officers were at the address.
“This case also illustrates the lengths burglars may go to in order to steal property.
“It is likely they were using the drone to scope out potential targets.
“It is more important than ever, given the tools and technology at the disposal of criminals, that the public in Essex take whatever steps they can to secure their property.
“We know, and it is obvious to us, that offending targeting people’s homes and businesses is the sort of crime the public wants to see us prioritising.
“That is exactly what we are doing, to the best of our ability and with whatever resources we have available to us.
“We are relentless and focused in preventing crimes such as burglaries from happening in the first place by sharing crime prevention advice, monitoring hotspots and working with partners.
“But when they do happen, we are here to support the victim and our expert teams are arresting more suspects and building strong cases to ensure offenders are taken off our streets.”

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.