Leon Cooper, 25, stole a van after breaking into a house in Newthorpe Common, Eastwood, and stealing the key around midnight on Monday, March 21, this year.
His luck ran out shortly before 3 p.m. the next day, when he was pulled over by an unmarked police car in the village of Moorgreen.
Cooper falsely claimed as he was led away that he found the vehicle unlocked on the driveway with the keys in the ignition, a claim he repeated in his police interview.
Cooper, of Somecotes’ Warwick Road, later admitted to burglary and aggravated vehicle taking.
He was sentenced to ten months in prison for the burglary and an additional 14 weeks for the vehicle theft at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (22 June).
This type of offence has a very significant impact on victims who have had their homes and lives violated,” said Nottinghamshire Police Investigator Nicola Wiley.
“Cooper believed he could walk into someone else’s home, steal their car, and get away with it.” He hadn’t counted on drawing the attention of the unmarked police car, which proved to be his undoing.
I am pleased that he has now been sentenced to prison, and I hope that this case serves as a warning to others who believe they can get away with driving stolen vehicles on our streets.
