Salford burglar stole IT goods worth £69k in Birchwood

Jonathan Dougan and three others stole electrical items worth in excess of £69,000 during the break-in, loading them into the back of a stolen van on false number plates.

They then drove back to their native Salford, with none of the goods recovered by police.

The 34-year-old appeared via video-link from HM Prison Altcourse at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday after admitting a charge of burglary.

Here, prosecutor Derek Jones explained that the business targeted was a graphic design company called Blue Whale Media, which sets up websites for clients and also sells mobile phones.

Between 9pm and 10pm on Sunday, August 15, the defendant was one of four men who travelled from Salford in a stolen Citroën Berlingo van bearing false number plates to the company’s base on Birchwood Boulevard.

One of the party had a crowbar and they forced entry through a rear door of the premises, with all four wearing face coverings or balaclavas and carrying bags.

Once inside, they proceeded to take dozens of electrical items including computers, phones and printers.

Some of the CCTV footage from the scene captured sound, with one of the four heard saying ‘I’ve got the hard drives’ and another stating ‘I’ve got phones’.

The items were placed into the back of the van, which was then driven back to the Salford area and was spotted the following day bearing different false number plates.

Police started their investigation and linked the defendant to the van through DNA. His home was searched and officers found a balaclava similar to one used in the burglary.

The items stolen had a combined value of just over £69,000, the vast majority of which were not recovered except only a few sim cards.

Dougan answered no comment during his police interview, but it was clear from mobile phone analysis that he was part of a ‘pre-planned and quite sophisticated’ operation.

Jonathan Dougan was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court

The gang made sure their phones were switched off for an hour when the burglary took place to avoid detection.

The company was able to claim back losses for the stolen items on its insurance.

Mr Jones revealed to the court that the defendant has an ‘extensive record for relatively serious crimes’, starting as a youth with breaches of an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO).

He then moved up in the criminal underworld, committing a number of offences, for which he received nine years in prison in 2014 for a conspiracy to steal.

On this occasion, he and a co-defendant were rumbled after police found evidence of their ill-gotten gains plastered all over their social media accounts.

The posed for photos with stolen high-performance vehicles and champagne and were linked to 14 thefts and a robbery in the Greater Manchester area, committed on licence from a previous robbery sentence and while they were barred from being together.

Paul Becker, defending Dougan for the Birchwood burglary, said that it was ‘inevitable’ that he would be jailed, with the question for the court being for how long.

“The best mitigation I can offer is his guilty plea – he could have argued the case but chose to admit the matter at the first opportunity, and so I ask for maximum credit,” the barrister said.

He also spoke of how his client was ‘recruited at last minute’, how his cut was ‘not substantial’, how he wants to break from his cycle of crime and how he is remorseful for what he has done.

Before sentencing, recorder Simon Parrington said: “I have no doubt this was a pre-planned and targeted operation, with little if anything recovered.

“You have previous convictions for robbery and you have spent a substantial amount of your recent life in prison. You know it is inevitable you will receive a custody sentence.”

Dougan, of Stanton Avenue in Salford, was jailed for 28 months

He is set to appear back before the court later this year for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing to learn if he will have to repay any of his ill-gotten gains.