Fake Police Car Robbers Jailed After Terrifying Home Raid
Two armed robbers who posed as police officers using a fake police car have been locked up for terrorising a Sevenoaks family. Nicholas Hamill and Joseph Meizen pulled off a daring plot to rob a home, with one wearing a police uniform to fool the victims.
Masked Gang Storm Home with Imitation Shotgun
The shocking incident unfolded on the evening of 1 May 2017 in Wildernesse Avenue. A Skoda Octavia decked out with reflective police markings and flashing blue lights pulled up to the property’s gates. A “police officer” claimed they were responding to a disturbance to gain entry.
Once inside, four masked men, one apparently armed with a sawn-off shotgun, forced their way through after cutting a hole in the fence. The victim was shoved to the floor and threatened, while a relative triggered an alarm from upstairs by locking herself in a cupboard.
The gang fled empty-handed in a panic — but the police blitz was just beginning.
Police Hunt Unravels Fake Cop Gang’s Trail
- The “police” car was actually a former ambulance rig, bought recently in maidstone/" title="Maidstone" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">Maidstone and sporting false number plates on the night of the raid.
- ANPR cameras tracked reconnaissance runs and linked multiple getaway vehicles to the suspects.
- Hamill and Meizen were arrested alongside accomplices John Moys and Ronnie Mead, who later turned himself in.
- Mead’s DNA was found on a hood dumped by the scene after the gang set their fake police car on fire in Nottingham.
Sentences Handed Down in Maidstone Crown Court
On 5 July 2019, Hamill was jailed for 14-and-a-half years. Meizen got 14 years plus an extended three-year licence. Moys pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing. Mead received three years for assisting offenders. A fifth suspect, Malcolm Maxted, was found not guilty.
Detective Inspector James Derham said:
“Moys, Hamill and Meizen went to great lengths to plan and carry out offences which involved subjecting their victims to enduring a terrifying ordeal. We have presented compelling evidence to the court, from what has been a complex and challenging investigation and yet two of them have continued to deny their involvement throughout the trial.
I am pleased that the Court has recognised their pivotal roles in this awful crime and the sentences reflect the seriousness of their offending. We know all too well just how devastating burglaries can be, for anyone whose home is broken into, and I hope that today’s verdicts will provide the victims with a level of closure.”
