Man pleads guilty to two counts of theft from a motor vehicle and other CBO breaches

Paul Priestly was arrested, charged and remanded into custody on Thursday, November 21.

He appeared before Boston Magistrates’ Court on Friday, November 22, where he pleaded guilty to:

• Two counts of theft from a motor vehicle
• Possession of a controlled drug of class B – Amphetamine
• Possession of a controlled drug of class B – Cannabis
• Two counts of breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order

Police say that on November 2, Priestly was captured on CCTV between 2.04am and 2.13am, on Burlington Way breaking into a Mercedes Vito van, from which he stole clothes glasses and cash to an unknown value.

By doing so he was breaching two conditions of his Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) by not being at his home address at that hour, but also by ‘touching a vehicle that did not belong to him’.

Prior to that, at 11.44pm on August 13 on Norwood Road, Skegness, he also broke into a BMW 1 series and stole Ray-Ban sunglasses to the value of £150, a Michael Kors handbag to the value of £200, as well as bank cards within a small Michael Kors purse to the value of £70, along with a driving licence and around £30 in cash. Again, in doing so, this man was in breach of his CBO.

Since the court appearance, police have now outlined how they knew the criminal responsible for the thefts was Paul Priestly.

"As we do routinely, Neighbourhood Policing officers are always speaking with our community, learning and problem-solving within our community,” a statement reads.

"Plus our residents were responding to our appeals for help, providing pieces of intelligence via various channels such as speaking directly to our officers on patrol, via our online reporting page here, or entirely anonymously via CrimeStoppers.

"These nuggets of intelligence are priceless to us and in this instance proved to be pivotal in identifying 46-year-old Priestly as our number one suspect for the above incidents.

“We had received information that Priestly might be sleeping rough in a tent somewhere along the beach in Skegness. With this information, our drone pilot was stood up, and indeed a tent was located on the beach.”

During a Section 18 search of this tent, a Michael Kors handbag, containing bank cards belonging to the BMW 1 series victim, along with that person’s driving licence, were found.

During that same search a quantity of white powder and cannabis was found, which was subsequently tested and proved to be amphetamine and cannabis. Priestly admitted that it was amphetamine and cannabis belonging to him for personal use.

Skegness Neighbourhood Policing Insp Jacky Evans spoke about Priestly’s arrest and guilty plea: “Identifying Priestley in relation to these offences and putting him before the court is a direct result of the community pulling together and working with us.

"I want to thank everyone who responded to our appeals and spoke to officers on the ground in the areas across Skegness that were being targeted. I know how much concern this has caused local residents which makes the outcome today even more satisfying. Our community spirit in this area is unwavering and we will continue to work together to identify, charge and prosecute those that seek to cause us harm”.

Priestly was bailed, and will appear at Boston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, November 27, for sentencing.