Burglar and Car Thief Caught After High-Speed A23 Chase
Daniel Laverty, 33, has been slammed with 7½ years behind bars for a spree of burglaries, thefts, and damage across Brighton and Hove — plus a reckless police chase on the A23. The Battersea man was nabbed on January 15 after officers tracked a stolen Kia Sportage he was driving. The chase ended when Laverty crashed the car at speed and was arrested on the spot.
Stealing Spree Continues While on Bail
Shockingly, Laverty wasn’t done. Just two days after getting conditional bail, he and a partner went on a crime rampage. Their trail of havoc included:
- Damage and theft from a vehicle in Gordon Close
- A burglary in Rutland Gardens during which another car was pinched
- A break-in at a home on Clermont Terrace
During one home invasion, a woman scared off the intruders while her two children and a friend slept upstairs. She was threatened violently during the raid.
Laverty Faces String of Charges
Laverty ended up facing multiple charges:
- Two counts of burglary
- Three counts of theft
- Theft of a motor vehicle
- Dangerous driving
- Driving while disqualified
- Driving without insurance
- Theft from a motor vehicle
- Failing to provide a specimen for analysis
- Possession of Class A drugs
He pled guilty to all except one theft charge, which was dropped.
Denied All But Caught on Camera
During his July 26 trial at Hove Trial Centre, Laverty insisted he didn’t know anything about the burglaries or car thefts. But doorbell footage nailed him at the scene. Detective Constable Josh Bellamy ripped into Laverty:
“Daniel Laverty hoped that a jury would believe his lies – that he was an innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time, attempting to paint himself as just as helpless as his victims. I am pleased that those lies were not believed. He has been rightly convicted for what was a selfish spree targeting innocent people in their homes.”
