A habitual British criminal who has been involved in this criminal activity for the last 29 years has been banned from touching any car for the next 5 years.
The name of the 44-year-old prolific criminal is Paul Priestley, who is a resident of Pennington, Cambridgeshire, and was caught on camera trying to pry open car doors.
According to The Metro, on three occasions between March 25 and March 26, he was seen on CCTV attempting to gain entry to vehicles in Sevenacres, Orton Brimbles, Kilbride, and Kelburn in Orton Northgate. He was later arrested and found to be in possession of a lock knife and cannabis.
Priestley, whose criminal record includes hundreds of theft-related offences, has now been ordered not to touch or enter any unattended vehicle without the owner's permission, the news outlet further reported.
Peterborough Magistrates' Court sentenced him to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, and he must complete a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
Due to his status as a persistent offender, the court issued a few more directives for him. He must adhere to a daily curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. until March 2027. He is also prohibited from entering or touching unattended vehicles without the owner's "express permission" under a Criminal Behaviour Order.
"Priestley was released from prison in June last year and appears to have been on his best behaviour right up until his CBO was due to expire. He will chance his luck trying the door handles of cars until he finds one that is open and will search it for anything of value that he can then sell on for cash," said PC Olivia Ciani, who investigated the incidents.
"We will continue to work with him, alongside probation and other agencies, to try to steer him away from criminality; however, for as long as he chooses to commit crime, we will continue to put him before the courts."
