Havant man jailed after being caught with stolen Christmas presents
A MAN caught in possession of stolen Christmas presents has been jailed.
Edward Butler, 44, was spotted by officers driving dangerously along Sheepwash Lane, Lavant, West Sussex on Wednesday, December 12.
Officers pursued the vehicle into Chalkpit Lane and Butler of Tangley Walk, Havant, was arrested and charged with three counts of receiving stolen goods, theft from a motor vehicle, dangerous driving, failing to stop and driving without insurance.
He was remanded in custody and appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court on January 11.
He was convicted on all accounts and given a 12 month custodial sentence and banned from driving for two years.
Chief Inspector Kris Ottery said: ‘Butler was a district target for us as he had links to Operation Mini, which relates to vehicle break-ins across Arun and Chichester.
‘We welcome the sentence imposed on Butler and hope it sends out a clear message to the public of how serious we treat matters like this.
‘We are aware of the impact vehicle crime has on the community and the increase in officers has allowed us to run operations such as Operation Mini and robustly tackle this criminality.’