Police Catch Teenage Burglars Pretending To Be Asleep Inside Home They Were Robbing
Four teenage boys have been arrested on burglary charges after being caught inside the home they were attempting to rob, according to a report from Sky News. Three of the teenagers, 19-year-olds Mark Boyce, Patrick Casey, and Seth Lee, were charged and sentenced while the remaining 16-year-old boy, whose name has not been released, is said to be awaiting his sentencing.
According to the report, on June 15, the Bedfordshire Police was summoned after members of the public noticed the four teens were acting suspiciously in the area. Upon arrival, the police managed to track the unsavory suspects to a home in Leighton Buzzard. After gaining access to the house, the police found four teenage boys cozied up and sharing two beds. The boys were undressed and pretending to be asleep next to a large pile of stolen jewelry.
Despite sharing a bed, the boys vehemently denied knowing each other upon discovery. Needless to say, their act wasn’t convincing enough for the officers at the scene and the four were arrested and jailed based on the evidence present.
“This was one of the more unusual cover stories for a group of burglars that I’ve encountered, but unfortunately for them, our officers didn’t buy it,” Detective Constable Andrew Boston said.
“The property recovered in the bedrooms where we found the offenders were identified as having been stolen from another house in the nearby neighborhood.”
“This allowed us to build a strong case against the offenders, who brazenly attempted to deny their involvement in this burglary,” he continued.
The Bedfordshire Police posted an update of the story to its official Twitter account.
Three teenage burglars have been sentenced yesterday after they were caught pretending to be asleep in bed when police officers caught up with them. https://t.co/6OEdsQIdcm pic.twitter.com/iG50vE9LTd
— Bedfordshire Police (@bedspolice) December 8, 2018
The boys recently received their sentences. Lee was sentenced to three years and four months, Casey was sentenced to two years, while Boyce received one year and 10 months. The report stated that Boyce was able to land a shorter sentence after returning one of the stolen items. The teen brought a stolen watch to court and the folks in charge of the matter were clearly swayed to offer a bit of leniency.
The 16-year-old has also pleaded guilty to the charges against him and is currently awaiting his sentence.
Detective Constable Andrew Boston hopes this will go toward preventing others from attempting any similar criminal acts.
“Hopefully this will serve as a warning to others who think they are above the law — we are committed to catching anyone who looks to profit from other people’s misery,” he said.
