Jailed: West Bromwich burglar ram-raided stolen car into shop

Darren Vincent, 33, of Gordon Avenue, West Bromwich, was one of two criminals who ploughed a stolen Toyota Avensis into the store before making off with a stash of items.

The drug addict, who had 34 convictions for 76 offences, was released from prison just a week before leaving Hill Top Phones with ‘substantial damage’.

But Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Vincent’s partner-in-crime has managed to evade justice as police officers are unable to track down the second perpetrator.

Vincent, who admitted burglary and two counts of theft, snatched the car from outside a Tipton home on July 9, prosecutor Mr Richard McConaghy told the court on Friday.

Footage from CCTV near to the shop captured the car being reversed into the store’s roller shutters in the early hours of the morning before a passenger is seen getting out of the vehicle.

The car then backs further into the shop front before the driver leaves the stolen motor and the pair burgle the mobile phone shop store.

Police discovered the damaged Toyota Avensis nearby, as well as Vincent’s blood inside Hill Top Phones, Mr McConaghy said.

The burglar was arrested more than two weeks later when officers spotted drug-fuelled Vincent crying while on the ground following an ‘altercation’ in Okehampton Drive, West Bromwich, on July 26.

Vincent had been uncovered rooting through a Ford S-MAX parked in the street and was approached by the car owner, who chased the thief as he attempted to make off with £10 sunglasses.

The man managed to catch up with Vincent, leaving the defendant with bruising to his head and face as he tried to detain him at about 1am on July 26.

Defence barrister Ms Lynette McClement said Vincent, who also takes anti-psychotic medication, is battling a long-standing addiction to class A drugs, which has ‘ruled his life’.

But the defendant claimed he wants to continue taking the illegal substances as the drugs make him ‘feel better’, she said.

Vincent fell back into offending following short periods behind bars as he had no accommodation or support from the probation service upon release from a sentence shorter than 12 months, the barrister said.

She went on to say that Vincent, who must pay a victim surcharge, believes he is ‘better off’ in prison as he has somewhere to sleep and is fed, but wanted to be handed a longer sentence.

Ms McClement added: “He does not see a way out of this mess he has got himself in, without help. This is a man who has reached a crisis point and now realises that short periods of custody simply do not assist him.”