Four men have been jailed for a spree of botched cashpoint raids around Birmingham which culminated in them throwing a hammer at police officers as they tried to catch them.
The gang smashed vans into banks and building societies, causing tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage, before speeding off in a getaway car.
A major investigation by our detectives uncovered a raft of evidence against the gang, including mobile phone and property records, and members have now been handed lengthy jail sentences.
When one was arrested in a dawn raid during lockdown last May, he began coughing, spitting and claiming he had CoVID and threatened to ‘be sick’ on officers.
The spree started in October, 2018, when a stolen van was driven into the side of the Nationwide building society on Coventry Road, Small Heath.
They had a second van to take the cash machine away with them, but failed and sped away in a high-powered Audi.
The spree continued:
March 1, 2019 − They tied straps tied to a cash machine at Lloyds Bank, Bordesley Green, but fled in their Audi when police arrived.
4 March – The gang dragged a cash machine from Mecca Bingo in Kingstanding.
12 March – Stolen van used in a failed attempt to steal a cash machine from the Drink Buster on Bromford Drive, Bromford.
May 10 – A stolen van was rammed into the Acfold Road Post Office in Handsworth.
The spree reached a new level on 8 August, 2019 when the group used two stolen vans and an Audi taken in a car key burglary in Sutton Coldfield to ram the Birchfield Road Post Office.
As officers arrived, the gang threw a hammer at them and sped off in an Audi.
A major investigation by our detectives uncovered a raft of evidence against the gang, including mobile phone and car evidence and members have now been handed lengthy jail sentences.
DC Max Gebhard said: “This gang caused thousands of pounds of damage and major disruption for businesses around Birmingham, with no regard for the safety of anyone around at the time.
“They were willing to use violence when confronted by officers, and thankfully they’re now behind bars for a considerable amount of time.”
Last Friday (4 June), they were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court. Chad Lee, aged 30, of Hartwell Road, Erdington, jailed for 10 years and two months for drugs offences and burglary and assaulting an emergency worker, after he spat, coughed and claimed he had CoVID during his arrest.
Corey Jones, aged 30, of Minstead Road, Erdington, was jailed for five years and three months. Police recovered a text message from him where he bragged to a girlfriend about the Lloyds Bank raid and saying she’d be able to see it on the internet.
Reece Proffitt, aged 24, of Round Road, Erdington, jailed for six years for drugs offences and burglary. police found footage he’d recorded on his m obile phone of one of the cashpoints he’d filmed on a reconnaissance visit.
Lee, Proffitt and Jones all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary, whilst Farquharson pleaded guilty to theft and raiding the Birchfield Road Post office.
Proffitt and Lee were also convicted of conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs following evidence being obtained on two mobile phones seized from Reece Proffitt that detailed the pairs involvement in dealing.
Lee played a leading role in the supply and was paid more than £25,000 into his bank account in a year by his customers.
Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings are now under way to claw back criminal cash from the gang.