Three men who stole £500,000 worth of luxury cars were caught red-handed when they stopped at a McDonald’s drive-thru following a botched burglary.
Footage shows the moment Rory Fitzgerald, Harry Beresford and Zachary Shellis were arrested as they ordered their burgers and fries. Officers had earlier been hunting the men after they were spotted trying to break into garages just before midnight on November 17, 2020.
They drove off empty-handed in a black Peugeot with a distinctive "space saver" wheel on the back.
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A traffic patrol picked up the vehicle 30 minutes later and followed it into a McDonald’s drive-thru where all three were arrested on suspicion of burglary. Balaclavas and gloves were found in the car and examination of their phones revealed photos and video of them posing with stolen cars and driving them away.
Police linked Fitzgerald, 24, Beresford, 21, and 25-year-old Shellis, all from Birmingham, to more than 20 stolen cars worth £500,000. One video shows Fitzgerald rummaging through a woman’s handbag following a burglary, before making off in her BMW.
While ransacking the house, Beresford films their crimes, with one heard singing: “I don’t just take cars me, I take the big telly,” as they steal a 55-inch TV.
Another video shows one of the group holding stolen car keys while a voice says: “What’s that? Eight cars in one night, okay then”. The three admitted conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and conspiracy to burgle homes between June 28 and November 16, 2020.
At Birmingham Crown Court on Friday, Fitzgerald was jailed for eight years, Beresford was jailed for six years three months and Shellis was sentenced to five years five months behind bars.
Detective Constable Kevin Cockayne, from West Midlands Police, said: “After being arrested in the drive thru we initially charged them with three offences – but the full scale of their offending became clear when we analysed their phones.
“They broke into homes for keys to high-performance cars like VW Golfs, Mercedes-Benz and BMWs. No victims were confronted but they caused damage to homes, worry for victims and lots of inconvenience.”
Police recovered 12 of the stolen cars.
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