Telecoms compound burglars sentenced at court

A pair of burglars who broke into a telecoms compound in Hereford to steal materials, equipment and a van have been sentenced at court this week.

Zack Kingsley, 27, of Caerau Lane, Cardiff, was convicted of burglary other than dwelling with intent to steal and theft of a motor vehicle at Worcester Crown Court on Monday (10 August).

His accomplice Marcus Trebilcock, 35, of Pearl Street, Cardiff, was convicted of burglary other than dwelling with intent to steal, handling stolen goods and theft of a motor vehicle the same day.

Kingsley was sentenced to 21 months in prison for the burglary and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £187 plus ten months to run concurrently for the theft of motor vehicle.

Trebilcock was sentenced to 21 months in prison for the burglary and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £187 and ten months to run concurrently for the theft of motor vehicle. Both sentences were suspended for two years.

He was further sentenced to ten months to run concurrently, also suspended for two years, for handling stolen goods and ordered to complete a 15-day rehabilitation requirement.

Kingsley and Trebilcock committed the burglary at an Open Reach compound on Holmer Road in Hereford on 13 June 2024 where multiple areas of the building were broken into and a Vauxhall Vivaro van was stolen along with telecommunication materials and equipment.

They had travelled to Hereford from Cardiff and returned to Wales in convoy with the stolen van.

West Mercia Police conducted a joint operation with South Wales Police to arrest the suspects on 21 August 2024 where equipment stolen in the burglary was in one of the defendant's houses. They were charged and appeared before court this week.

Detective Constable Max Beswick of Proactive CID said: “We are pleased to get these convictions for Kingsley and Trebilcock who travelled into West Mercia force area to commit this commercial burglary.

“Burglaries of this nature impact businesses and their insurance and feed into a black market of illegal materials that creates further criminality.

“We hope this court result, achieved by working with South Wales Police, shows we take commercial crimes such as this seriously and will track down offenders and bring them to justice.”