A burglar's shocking eight-month crime spree came to an end when he killed a much-loved nurse.
Shaun Rimmer committed nearly two dozen high-value burglaries during the early part of 2021, with his victims including then Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti. Then, in the summer of last year, he fatally struck a dad-of-three at speed while behind the wheel of a stolen car then drove off with a shattered and bloodstained windscreen.
Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday that the 29-year-old and partner in crime Adam Hastings - from Netherton - led a "team of highly-organised, professional burglars" which targeted the now Real Madrid boss' address in Blundellsands on February 12 last year. Michael Scholes, prosecuting, described how Ancelotti's young daughter "screamed" out in horror when she realised that two men had entered via a first-floor balcony at around 6.30pm on the day in question.
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A quantity of jewellery, a designer leather bag worth in the region of £2,000 and several credits were taken during the incident. The intruders then carted their loot off in a pillowcase.
This was one of a serious of break-ins, in which the crooks also targeted houses where firearms including shotguns were kept - hoping to steal the guns to sell on to the criminal underworld. Rimmer, Hastings and fellow burglar Callum Martin - from Bootle - ransacked countless secluded homes to steal tens of thousands of pounds of jewellery at a time.
Merseyside Police's dedicated burglary unit Operation Castle launched Operation Coliseum in order to investigate the spate of 37 reported burglaries. Homes in Birkdale, Allerton, Crosby, Formby, Southport, Hightown, Aughton, Halsall and Neston were also targeted.
Hastings and Rimmer were described as the "main participants", having been "undoubtedly in control of the entire operation". Both were also "present for the vast majority" of the break-ins.
The ECHO can now reveal that Rimmer was handed an eight-year prison sentence in Scotland earlier this year for causing death by dangerous driving. The High Court in Edinburgh heard in March that he was being chased by police through the streets of Aberdeen at High Speed in a stolen Seat Leon before the incident on August 16 2021.
As he fled at around 50mph in a 30mph zone, he hit 48-year-old Simon Musabayana as he was crossing the road. Despite the car's windscreen being stained with blood and shattered, Rimmer continued to flee by putting his head out of the driver's side window so he could see the road.
The banned driver then abandoned his vehicle, which had been taken from a property in Cheshire 12 days previously. He made no attempt to hand himself in and was eventually arrested in his home city when forensic evidence linked him to the crime.
Mental health nurse Mr Musabayana died in hospital 26 days after the crash, having suffered "extensive and catastrophic injuries". Rimmer pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance and was imprisoned for eight years - as well as being banned from the roads for a further 14 years.
A judge told him that his victim was "a much-loved father, husband and son" who was the main earner for his family in this country - as well as his extended family in Zimbabwe. Prosecutor Richard Goddard QC added: "He was married for 22 years and resided with his wife and three children aged 19, 17 and 10 - his wife has described him as a family man who had also committed himself to academic studies.
"At an average speed of 50mph, the accused and the deceased would have less than two seconds to react to each other's presence prior to the collision and a collision was inevitable. Collision investigators calculated that, had the accused been driving within the speed limit, he would have had time to stop prior to impact."
Rimmer - of no fixed address - then admitted conspiracy to commit burglary, three counts of possession of a shotgun without a certificate and theft of a motor vehicle in relation to the Merseyside Police investigation. He was jailed for eight years and nine months yesterday afternoon, to be served consecutively to the death by dangerous driving sentence.
Hastings pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary and three counts of possession of a shotgun without a certificate. The 31-year-old was handed 10 years and nine months.
Martin, 33, admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and three counts of possession of a shotgun without a certificate. He was locked up for four years and five months.
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