A prolific burglar from west London who targeted elderly and vulnerable residents has been jailed after the Met’s Flying Squad and local officers worked with the community to bring him to justice.
Luke Connors, 23, from Northolt, was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary and robbery, following a two-week trial.
He was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday (3 July) after being guilty on Thursday, 29 June.
Detective Superintendent Simon Moring, from the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “Luke Connors committed violent burglaries in north and west London. By listening and working with residents we were able to investigate, detain and convict him for his heinous offences.”
The court heard how Connors was involved in a spate of burglaries between Wednesday, 31 August 2022 and Friday, 28 October.
On Sunday, 4 September a man in his 70s was on his way home from a pub in Ickenham when he spotted men in masks looking suspicious. The defendants noticed him and unbeknown to the victim, followed him in his car to his home address. Before entering his property, he was punched and stabbed with a screwdriver. They stole his dash-cam from his vehicle.
Members of Ickenham’s Neighbourhood Watch and other local residents came together and provided relevant CCTV footage to officers. Officers were then able to discover the vehicle the offenders were using.
The Flying Squad, working with local officers in north and west London, along with other police forces in Hertfordshire and Thames Valley. They identified 11 linked series of burglaries.
The total value of items stolen was in the region of £200,000 of cash, jewellery and high value items.
Detectives established the offences were linked by the use of vehicles and stolen items. Working collaboratively with local neighbourhood watch teams’ detectives were able to build their evidence.
A local resident from Ickenham Neighbourhood Watch, said: “This was a dreadful assault on our resident which sent shock waves through our community.
“This was a fantastic investigation by the Met’s Flying Squad and the North West/West Area investigation team who really engaged with our community. Residents were understandably very nervous, afraid even of giving evidence against the perpetrators. However, we all realise that unless our communities step forward and support our police then the criminals have won and we descend into a state of lawlessness.
“That simply cannot be allowed to happen. A brilliant investigation, well done.”
Detectives reviewed hours of CCTV and automatic number plate recognition data. They carried out surveillance and on Tuesday, 1 November they arrested Connors in Paddington Green. He was charged as above.
Two further men were also arrested, charged and await trial.
