Man jailed for 18 months for string of motoring offences

A 45-year-old man has been jailed for 18 months after being sentenced for a string of motor vehicle crimes.

Anthony Vittles, of Brentgovel Street, in Bury St. Edmunds, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court today, Wednesday, July 3, after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing.

He was initially arrested on April 25 on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle – a Subaru Legacy from Lakenheath which had been taken the previous day and subsequently charged.

Following these charges he then engaged with the Operation Converter team and went on to admit a further 10 offences that took place between March 13, 2018, and April 26, 2019.

These included various incidents of thefts from vehicles in the Red Lodge and Lakenheath areas, stealing a variety of items including sunglasses, cash, headphones and a mobile phone.

Another offence was burglary of a building where power tools were stolen in Lakenheath and two incidents of attempted theft from vehicles in Red Lodge.

At Ipswich Crown court on May 29 he pleaded guilty to these offences and was sentenced to 14 months for breach of a suspended sentence, imposed on February 22 this year and a four month jail term for aggravated vehicle taking. He was also banned from driving for 21 months.

DC Barry Simpson from the Operation Converter team said: “Vittles has taken responsibility for his offending, behaviour and lifestyle and is keen to make amends. He has shown remorse and a clear understanding that his actions were wrong with class A drugs appearing to be at the root of his offending.

“I’d take this opportunity to remind motorists that valuables left on display in vehicles can also attract attention from thieves. Items such as sat navs or even sat nav mounts should be removed from inside vehicles.”

Operation Converter is an initiative aimed at encouraging offenders to admit their crimes.

This has benefits for all – police are able to give victims some peace of mind that an offender has been caught for the burglary of their home or the theft of their property and the individual has the opportunity to clear their slate so they can have a fresh start when they are released from prison, without the possibility they will later be traced for a further offence.

Offenders have to give sufficient detail for officers to be sure they have committed the crime and these offences are then ‘taken into consideration’ at sentencing.