Forensics team help police nail bungling burglars

Gheorghe Serban, 33, of New Haw Road, Addlestone, was sentenced to 34 months in prison and ordered to pay a victim surcharge.

His brother-in-law Iulian Toma, 43, of Glebe Close, Northgate, Crawley, was sentenced to 21 months in prison suspended for two years with an electronically monitored curfew requirement.

Police say that officers were called to an address in Hampshire Court in Addlestone at around 9.49pm onJanuary 15 2021 following reports of two men who were disturbed trying to gain access to an address.

Officers rushed to the scene and detained and searched the suspects. Two screwdrivers were discovered near their feet which they denied all knowledge of. They claimed they were walking to the shops to buy cigarettes when Serban decided to call on an old girlfriend in the area.

However, say police, house to house enquiries and CCTV footage disproved their story and showed them attempting to break into two houses.

Forensics were then conducted on the screwdrivers which showed they had been directly handled by Serban and may have been handled by Toma. Footage from body-worn cameras on the attending officers was translated from Romanian to English and showed that Serban had said to Toma ‘Did you throw that thing away?’ which was believed to be a reference to the screwdrivers.

Both men were charged with two attempted burglaries each and with going equipped for burglary. They pleaded guilty but then failed to attend Guildford Crown Court. Serban even left the country, say police.

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A spokesperson said: “Thanks to officers’ persistence they were tracked down and brought before the court earlier this month. Serban was sentenced on November 4 and Toma on November 16.

Investigating officer PC Daniel Bell said: “This was a protracted investigation compounded by both Serban and Toma failing to appear for court. I would like to thank the victims for their patience while we pursued these criminals and brought them to justice.

"Burglary is a despicable crime, and nobody should be made to feel unsafe in their own home. I know this has had an impact on the victims in this case who were in with their children at the time of the offence.”