A JUDGE said he was ‘absolutely outraged’ to have to adjourn a court sentencing hearing after Cheshire Police failed to provide important evidence.

The sentencing of Seamus Maughan, Terence Mongan and Francis Mongan was due to take place on Friday after the trio were convicted of the theft of catalytic converters from two cars in Warrington.

Midway through the hearing, prosecutor Clare Jones revealed that she was duty bound to reduce a sentencing guideline grading – which determines the starting point for the length of sentences – after failing to acquire the value of the converters from Cheshire Police, despite multiple attempts.

This was rejected by judge Patrick Thompson, who said that doing so would be giving the defendants the ‘benefit of the doubt’ – something which he was not prepared to do.

At the outset of the hearing at Chester Crown Court, Ms Jones spoke of how Maughan, 38, Terence Mongan, 45, and Francis Mongan, 19 were arrested by police at around 8.20pm on October 16 in the Gemini area.

In the boot of the green Toyota they were travelling in was two catalytic converters stolen from vehicles earlier that day in Padgate and Grappenhall, along with a heavy-duty car jack and power tools.

The first incident occurred at 4.35pm near Padgate Medical Centre on Station Road South. A witness saw a white Toyota raised with a jack, before crashing down ‘with a thud’.

A catalytic converter which had been removed from the car was thrown into the back seat of the trio’s green Toyota, which was then driven off at speed.

The first vehicle was targeted near Padgate Medical Centre in Station Road South (Image: Google Maps)

The first vehicle was targeted near Padgate Medical Centre in Station Road South (Image: Google Maps)

In the second incident, the victim had parked her car on Knutsford Road in Grappenhall while visiting the Co-op store at around 5pm.

When she returned to her car, she saw it was jacked up on one side with the defendants using power tools to steal its catalytic converter.

After being stopped by police near Apollo Park in Gemini, one of the defendants attempted to run away from officers and shouted a warning to his accomplices that the police were present.

He was subsequently detained, as were the other two defendants, who had entered a nearby pub to use the toilets.

Following their arrest, the trio, all from Lutterworth in Leicestershire, were charged with two counts of theft from a motor vehicle and one count of going equipped for theft.

Maughan was also charged with driving whilst disqualified, having been 14 months into a five-year disqualification.

In a statement, the court heard how the first victim was registered disabled through spina bifida and relied upon his car to travel and buy essential shopping.

The second victim revealed the ‘significant impact’ the crime has had on her family. The vehicle was a mobility car used to drive her disabled children, one of which uses a wheelchair, to school and medical appointments.

A vehicle was also targeted near the Co-op store in Knutsford Road, Grappenhall (Image: Google Maps)

A vehicle was also targeted near the Co-op store in Knutsford Road, Grappenhall (Image: Google Maps)

This was a key element of judge Thompson’s reasoning behind adjourning the sentencing.

He said: “What does that say to the two victims? It is absolutely outrageous, and it is not going to happen before me. Is this the state of British justice?

“It is absolutely outrageous and work needs to be done by the police. They are there to serve the public.

“I am here to represent all the victims and see that they get justice. I am not prepared to sentence this case on the basis of giving the defendants the benefit of the doubt. No way. Not in this court.”

Following the hearing, Cheshire Police superintendent Simon Meegan, said that the requested information has now been provided ahead of the next scheduled court appearance.

He said: “We acknowledge the comments made by his honour judge Patrick Thompson and the information requested is now with the Crown Prosecution Service.

“As with all incidents of this nature, the officer in charge of this case provided the CPS with a document which included the cost of the incidents to the victims.

“However, it appears that on this occasion the court also wanted us to supply the exact value of the cost of the catalytic converters for the models of cars stolen, which is not something that is ordinarily required. This has now been rectified.

“Despite this, the strength of the evidence gathered was so strong that those involved pleaded guilty as the case progressed to crown court.”