Pair went on a spree of burglaries

Saturday 08 August 2020

Two young men, who committed a series of burglaries and criminal damage offences earlier this year, have been ordered to complete lengthy community service orders.

Kai Ozanne, 19, was staying with Connor Pinchemain, 20, in March when the pair decided to go out for a bike ride.

There was a catch though - Pinchemain didn't have a bike, so the pair set out to steal one.

Pinchemain took wire cutters with him, to break any bicycle locks they might come across, as well as a torch, masks and gloves.

Just before 23:00 on 16 March, they walked together to Keyprice. When they got there, Ozanne attempted to move the shop's CCTV camera so it was pointing at the ground rather than at them, accidentally snapping it from its bracket in the process.

Pictured: One of the defendants damaged the CCTV camera outside Keyprice.

Pinchemain was seen to be wearing a mask and gloves, and the two men set off to search gardens in the area for a bike.

They entered a private shed, which hadn't been shut securely, and inside came across a Specialised mountain bike. Pinchemain used the wire cutters to release the bike and took it, along with a drill.

The pair then rode off to L'Ancresse, where they noticed a mobile ice cream van that had been closed with an insecure bolt. Ozanne went inside and both men started emptying cans and bottles of soft drinks into their bags.

At this point, officers arrived and both of the defendants were arrested.

Pinchemain gave a full account of what happened during his police interview, stating that the bike looked "new and expensive" and that he had planned to keep it. He said he hadn't planned to take a drill, but did so because he had "always wanted one".

Pictured: The defendants were arrested and taken to the police station for interview.

Ozanne showed remorse in his interview, telling officers he was homeless and had stolen the drinks because he couldn't afford items that others could.

However, in the weeks following their arrest, both defendants went on to commit further crimes - this time separately.

On 28 March, Ozanne got a CT Plus bus from the Bridge to Town. He tried to pay with cash, but was told that, because of concerns regarding corona virus, he would have to buy a bus pass instead for £5. He bought one and sat towards the back of the bus, where he then took out a thick black permanent marker and wrote "rude", "LNK" and the numbers "444" on the seat in front of his.

Shortly after, that bus was taken out of service for routine checks, so the damage wasn't noticed by the company until a month later. In the following weeks, the rest of the fleet was checked and further damage was found on another bus - once again the defendant had written "LNK" and "444".

Ozanne was identified and arrested, and he admitted to police that he had caused the damage. He explained that 'rude' was his nickname, 'LNK' was his team name on Xbox gaming and 4 was his lucky number.

Pictured: The defendant damaged two CT Plus buses.

Meanwhile, on 19 April, Pinchemain was arrested for an unrelated matter. When officers tried to restrain and handcuff him, he pulled away and used his body weight to thrash around. He was taken to the ground, but continued shouting and struggling, and spat at one of the officer's boots.

He immediately said "I"m sorry, I didn't mean to," and it was later accepted that the spitting was a reckless act, as it was likely the defendant had ground in his mouth after being taken to the floor.

Although no convictions came from the initial arrest, Pinchemain was charged with resisting arrest and the reckless assault of a police officer.

In his mitigation, Advocate Sam Steel said the defendant "wished to apologise for what must have been a particularly unpleasant and worrying offence," given that the spitting assault took place during lockdown.

He told the court Pinchemain was going through an "unstable few months" when the offences took place and that he had been suffering with substance abuse.

Pictured: Pinchemain was charged with reckless assault of a police officer.

However, he noted that the defendant has now turned his life around. "In his own words he's never been happier or more stable," said Advocate Steel.

In Ozanne's mitigation, Advocate David Domaille said his client didn't have "the family support you would have hoped for in his first 18 years". He explained how the defendant had been "sofa surfing" at the time of the offences and that he had "felt a sense of false allegiance to his co-defendant".

"When speaking with Kai, it's very difficult to get anything out of him at all," Advocate Domaille went on. "When you speak to him, he's always blank in his expression, like he is in court today. He's completely and utterly lost within himself."

Judge Gary Perry gave both defendants full credit for their early guilty pleas and took account of their ages.

He dealt with Pinchemain first and told him "custody would be warranted for protection of the public and prevention of crime". But, after some deliberation, he decided not to send the 20-year-old straight to youth detention.

Pictured: The defendants avoided an immediate custodial sentence. 

Instead, he was given a total of 110 hours of community service as a direct alternative to 18 weeks of youth detention, which he will have to serve if he doesn't complete the order. He was also sentenced to an 18 month probation order.

When it came to Ozanne, Judge Perry said he had taken note of Advocate Domaille's "heartfelt mitigation".

"It's clear you have self-esteem problems, but associating with the people you have been will only make these problems worse," Judge Perry told the defendant.

Ozanne was given 80 hours of community service as a direct alternative to 12 weeks in youth detention. In addition, he was also given an 18 month probation order and must pay £610 to CT Plus in compensation.

All of the items that had been stolen were returned to their owners.

Pictured top: The pair were sentenced in the Magistrate's Court.