A burglar who targeted homes and high performance cars in Nottinghamshire as part of a crime spree also kidnapped his girlfriend and left her paralysed after she fell out of a van at 60mph. Chay Bowskill and others broke into their victims' homes to steal the keys to the sleeping owners' prestige cars. They took 51 in total at a value of £1,153,500.
He was part of a gang of six men and teenagers who burgled 41 homes in Nottinghamshire, Loughborough, Leicester and towns and villages across the county and wider region. They stole upmarket SUVs, an £80,000 Audi SQ7, a £75,000 Mercedes C63s as well as BMWs, a Range Rover and VWs, reports the Leicester Mercury.
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Bowskill, now 20, and the others pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglaries, which were carried out between June and October, 2019. A number of the cars, collectively worth an estimated £373,000, are still missing, Leicester Crown Court heard.
Bowskill, of Syston, was convicted by a jury in January of kidnapping his then 19-year-old girlfriend, Angel Lynn. Angel, of Loughborough, suffered severe brain damage in a fall from the van Bowskill had abducted her in on the A6 near Mountsorrel, in September 2020.
Bowskill was also convicted of 'coercive and controlling behaviour' toward Angel - who now needs round-the-clock care - and perverting the course of justice. He was jailed for a total of seven-and-a-half years.
However, the sentence was referred to London's High Court for an 'unduly lenient' review and increased to 12 years. Now, he is expected to serve two thirds, or eight years, of that term.
However, at Leicester Crown Court two days later, he was given an additional four years for the burglary conspiracy. He was told this would add two more years to his term and he now faces serving at least 10 years before being eligible for release on licence.
Others involved in the conspiracy were Barry Kew Moss, 22, Travis Hindmarsh,19, Oliver Thomas Read, 25, Aurel Sadiki, 24, all of no fixed address, and 18-year-old Josh Healy, of Laurel Close, Mountsorrel.
Christopher Jeyes, prosecuting, said "The burglaries were of occupied homes, some with elderly residents and some with children. Many of the occupants woke up to find doors and windows had been entered and vehicles were missing from outside."
About 10 homes were burgled in the Loughborough area, with several more in Leicester, including Scraptoft. Mr Jeyes said: "Some of the stolen vehicles were used in subsequent offences, with registration plates changed."
He said others were targeted in Coalville, Whitwick, Cossington, Sileby, Markfield, Shepshed, Wymeswold, Tur Langton, Tilton on the Hill, Great Bowden, Fleckney, Syston, Queniborough, Kibworth, Thistleton [Rutland], as well as Wysall, Keyworth and East Leake, in Nottinghamshire.
Sentencing, Recorder Michael Auty QC said: "Each of you was part of an organised cabal whose purpose was to break into the homes of 41 separate families with the sole intention of stealing keys to valuable cars. They were expressly targeted because of their prestige nature, high performance and intrinsic high value.
"It was a serious and determined episode of criminality in which each of you played an active part. Whilst I acknowledge there was never any direct confrontation with householders, there were some near misses."
He said many of the victims had worked extremely hard to be able to own "a decent motor car," adding: "To have a gang come to their home in the dead of night, armed with a crowbar or other items, must have resulted in very real, substantial and possibly life-lasting, distress.
"What you did affected their enjoyment of life and their homes and most important of all, their sense of security in the one place they're entitled to feel the most safe and secure. That says nothing in terms of monetary loss and inconvenience."
Recorder Auty said he took into account that Healy was 15-years-old at the time of the conspiracy, Hindmarsh was then aged 16 and Bowskill had been 18. Kew Moss was aged 20 at the time and is currently serving a three year and nine month sentence for some of the burglaries that formed part of the same conspiracy.
Robin Howat, mitigating for Bowskill said his client had an "unguided childhood" and went "badly off the rails." He said Bowskill would be turning 21 next week, adding: "It won't be the key of the door for him, or any door for many years to come." Mr Howat added: "He's already had a crushing blow [from the Appeal Court] and a concurrent sentence wouldn't make him lose hope."
Graham James, mitigating for Hindmarsh, said: "He was a follower, not a leader and has realised the error of his ways." While, James Varley, for Healy said he had since "matured," found work as a labourer, been offered a building apprenticeship and "turned his life around."
Anthony Bell, for Kew Moss, said: "He's an appreciably different person than the one who committed these offences." The court heard that the defendants played various roles at various times during the conspiracy, with Hindmarsh only involving himself towards the end.
Healy and Hindmarsh, both juveniles at the time of the offending, were each sentenced to four years detention, while Kew Moss was jailed for six years and three months. Read and Sadiki are due to appear in court for sentencing at a later date.
