A brazen gang of car key burglars who stole nearly £3.5million of vehicles were sentenced to a total of 94 years and eight months for their roles in the biggest conspiracy case dealt with by West Mercia Police.
Eleven members of the gang were handed the terms at Worcester Crown Court today (Friday 17 April) and yesterday (Thursday 16 April) after stealing nearly 100 cars between May and August 2024.
Their sentencing marks the end of Operation Flare, a dedicated investigation led by West Mercia that tracked the organised crime group’s criminality across The Midlands, the south of England and Wales, impacting eight police force areas.
Considering their ages at the time of offences and reductions in their sentencing for guilty pleas, yesterday at court the following offenders were convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit burglary and one count of conspiracy to conceal/disguise/transfer/remove criminal property: –
- Charlie Coombs, 20, of Grafton Lane, Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester, was sentenced to eight years and three months in a young offenders’ institution for the first offence and five years concurrently for the second offence. He was also disqualified from driving for 96 months.
- Wesley Hunt, 49, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to seven years and two months in prison and three years to run concurrently. He was disqualified from driving for 91 months.
- Jack Stephens, 19, of HMP YOI Featherstone, was sentenced to six years and four months and three years concurrently in a young offenders’ institution. He was disqualified from driving for 86 months.
- Charlie Taylor-Bates, 20, of Evesham, was sentenced to four years and ten months and three years concurrently in a young offenders’ institution. He was disqualified from driving for 48 months.
- Riley Reeve, 28, of Pitwell Lane, Aldington, Evesham was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit burglary for which he was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. He was disqualified from driving for 76 months.
On Friday 17 April the following offenders were convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit burglary and one count of conspiracy to conceal/disguise/transfer/remove criminal property: –
- Bradley Archer, 29, of Rynal Place, Evesham was sentenced to seven years and six months, and four years to run concurrently. He was also disqualified from driving for 93 months.
- Chance Gill, 27, of Eckington, Worcestershire was sentenced to eight years for his involvement in Operation Flare, as well as a six-year sentence for conspiracy to commit burglary for offences in Wiltshire – these are to run consecutively. Gill was also given a 12-month sentence for failing to stop/dangerous driving to run concurrently, and disqualified from driving for 191 months.
- Jimmy Doran, 22, of Windmill Lane, Ladbroke in Warwickshire, was sentenced to 11 years and two months, and seven years to run concurrently. He was also disqualified from driving for 114 months.
- Eric Pearce, 29, of HMP YOI Stoke Heath, was sentenced to 10 years and six months, and eight years to run concurrently. He was also disqualified from driving for 117 months.
- Morgan Spiers, 27, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to eight years for his involvement in Operation Flare, as well as a four-year sentence for conspiracy to commit burglary for offences in Wiltshire – these are to run consecutively. He was disqualified from driving for 21 years.
- Shane Young, 34, of HMP Hewell, was sentenced to eight years and four months, and five years to run concurrently. He was also disqualified from driving for 95 months.
A 12th gang member – a 17-year-old boy from Stratford-upon-Avon, who cannot be named for legal reasons – was sentenced separately at Worcester Crown Court in January to a detention and training order for 14 months.
Op Flare has been the biggest conspiracy case ever dealt with by West Mercia by volume of offences with over 130 criminal events investigated.
The gang stole high-end cars including BMWs, Audis, Land Rovers and Range Rovers – some of which were worth over £100,000 each – typically by breaking into their victim’s home and stealing the car keys and then bleach or clean their entrance and exit points to hide forensic evidence before speeding off in the stolen vehicles, causing extensive damage.
They would quickly move on the cars using criminal networks by either disguising the vehicles’ original identities to sell them on the black market for only a fraction of their value or strip them out for parts in illegal ‘chop shops.’
The damage caused to the properties as well as other valuables, including sentimental jewellery and cash, they stole ramped up the cost of their criminal enterprise to around £3.67million.
Carrying out burglaries in balaclavas and often confronting their victims, the gang caused misery and harm to those they targeted, which included elderly and vulnerable people, and families with young children, across the UK. Many of those impacted by the gang ended up having to move house, haunted by the effects of their ordeals.
The gang’s criminality led to Op Flare being set up by West Mercia, partnering with police forces across The Midlands, the south of England and Wales.
All twelve offenders were arrested and later charged by the force with the investigation revealing their brazen and arrogant attitude towards law and order and a callous disregard towards the victims they stole from.
Mobile phone videos shared via social media channels like WhatsApp and Snapchat captured them bragging about their exploits and scouting out target vehicles while dashcam footage from stolen cars caught them racing away from crime scenes at speeds of more than 160mph.
Detective Constable Simon Lloyd, co-lead investigator for Op Flare, said: “This organised criminal gang were responsible for £3.45million of car thefts causing a lot of harm to their victims in the process.
“Not only did the victims suffer from their cars being stolen and homes broken into, but the offenders also had a ‘calling card’ of bleaching areas they came to contact with damaging properties and causing further misery.”
His colleague and fellow Op Flare lead investigator, DC Joshua Hunt added: “We hope the sentences handed out today will send a message that we will come after these gangs and prosecute where appropriate to get justice for those impacted by their offending.”
Detective Inspector James Bamber of Proactive CID added: “This result is for those victims. We hope it brings them some sense of justice and helps them to move on with their lives after the harm this gang have caused them.
“For West Mercia Police it concludes a thorough and comprehensive year-long investigation by our officers into what has been the biggest conspiracy case by volume of offences ever dealt with by the force.
“I would like to pay tribute to the Op Flare team for their hard work and dedication on this case which has seen justice delivered for more than a hundred victims across the country.”
His Honour Judge Andrew Lockhart KC told the perpetrators in court: “The terrible and long-lasting impact of your offences strike at the heart of society who should feel safe and secure in their own homes.
“You reaped havoc upon their lives without any thought for them. Families endured fear and children were affected by your actions. A significant portion of your victims were forced to move home as they couldn’t face living there anymore.
“You caused them huge financial losses. Sentimental items were taken and relationships between families were harmed by the stress you caused them.”
