AN EVESHAM landscape gardener who took part in a burglary at a building site near Studley has had his case adjourned – to give him the opportunity of naming his accomplice.
John Davies, 41, of Spring Valley, Evesham, had been due to be sentenced after pleading guilty at Warwick Crown Court to a charge of attempted burglary.
Prosecutor Simon Hunka said the burglary in June last year was of storage containers at a building site in Henley Road, Outhill, near Studley.
At around 4am security guard Mark Randle was at home in bed when he received an alert of an intruder at the site, which had been targeted on four or five previous occasions.
He drove there, and when he arrived he slammed the boot of his car and then heard a noise coming from the site.
Mr Randle then saw two men in dark clothing, so called his boss and the police before driving away briefly rather than trying to confront the intruders.
When he returned he saw a red van with L & J Landscaping on the side, with two men in it, which sped away with its lights off when they saw his car approaching.
He checked the site, and found the padlocks had been broken on two storage containers – and when a carpenter arrived for work, he found a wheelbarrow had been filled with power tools from the containers.
The van was traced to Davies, and he was arrested at his home on June 18, but made no comment when he was questioned.
Mr Hunka added that Davies had previous convictions dating back as far as 1992 for offences including theft, robbery, burglary and handling stolen goods, but none since 2012.
Jasvir Mann, for Davies, said: “He is repentant and contrite.”
That prompted Judge Richard Griffith-Jones to query: “So he’s said who his accomplice is, has he?”
He adjourned the case for Davies to tell the prosecution the name of his accomplice, telling him: “As you’ve repented, you will no doubt help the prosecution find the other person.”
When the case resumed, Mr Mann said Davies had indicated he would be willing to do so, which Davies confirmed to the judge.
So Judge Griffith-Jones adjourned the case for a month to give the police an opportunity to take a statement from Davies, who was granted bail.
