TWO teenagers have been locked up after pleading guilty to a string of robberies and attempted robberies, including incidents in Netherton.
Dylan Harrison, aged 18, and a 17-year-old − who is too young to legally be named − embarked on a violent campaign of break-ins over a few days in February.
Harrison, of no fixed address, admitted five robberies and two attempted robberies, while his younger co-defendant admitted one less robbery but instead admitted handling a car stolen from that address.
Yesterday (Friday September 6), Harrison was jailed for 12 years while the 17-year-old was sent to a young offenders institute for nine years and nine months.
The robbery campaign started on February 3 when Harrison smashed his way inside a house in Beechwood Park Road, Solihull, and threatened a resident with a meat cleaver before stealing his VW Type R Golf.
Another Golf was taken the next day in Sarehole Road, Hall Green, by intruders wearing skeleton masks and brandishing claw hammers; some residents hid in the loft while a man and his daughter fled into the street to escape the attackers.
A man was carjacked of his Golf GTi on the driveway of his home in Allesley Road, Olton, on February 7 and an Audi SQ5 taken on February 9 in Avon Road, Shirley.
And they made unsuccessful attempts to steal cars after smashing windows at homes in Arundel Road, Highters Heath, and Saltwells Road in Netherton on February 3 and 10 respectively.
Detective Sergeant Steve Goult, from West Midlands Police, described the offences as shocking given the age of the offenders and the extreme levels of violence used to steal cars.
He said: “These teenagers were smashing their way into family homes in the evening at around the time children were preparing for bed.
“Weapons were used and violence threatened; one victim had a meat cleaver held to his throat as they demanded keys to his vehicle. Some of the victims are struggling with the long-term psychological impact of their ordeals.
“All of the offences they admitted were carried out inside just seven days but we suspect the pair were actually responsible for several other break-ins and car thefts.
“They were brazen and cocky in their offending and we recovered images from social media and on their phones of them posing in stolen cars.
“These are two young men, just starting out in life, but that’s no excuse and the judge has rightly handed down very strong sentences for what were vicious robberies."
West Midlands Police has now released CCTV footage showing the two teenagers − one armed with a large ‘zombie knife’ − smashing their way inside a Birmingham home during their crime spree.
CCTV footage shows the pair − plus an unidentified third offender − attacking a property in Tudor Close, Kings Heath, on February 10 as they threatened the homeowner for keys to his VW Golf and BMW X1.
A paving slab, garden statue and plant pot were hurled through a glass door panel before knife-wielding Harrison chopped at the window frame with a machete as the victim bravely tried fending them off with a cricket bat.
They eventually made off with the cars but the following day police officers tracked them down to an address in Sid Courtney Road, Tiddington, in Stratford-upon-Avon where they were arrested in a morning raid.
Officers found several stolen cars parked nearby, keys to other stolen vehicles, plus the ‘zombie’ knife and skeleton Halloween masks worn during other robberies.
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