Retford burglars jailed after ramming telehandler through shop in failed cash machine raid

John Charles and Reuben Reynolds used the hydraulic lifting machine to knock through a wall at Spar in Wesley Road, Retford, at approximately 3.20am on March 14 last year.

Nottingham Crown Court heard the pair were left ‘disappointed’ when they found the cash machine was empty.

The ram raid – which caused £40,000 worth of damage – activated an alarm and the men fled in a white van with false plates.

Officers located them a short time later at a house in Welbeck Road, Retford.

Following their arrests, inquiries found they also carried out a burglary at a Retford pub in which a large quantity of cash was stolen on March 3 last year.

Charles, aged 50, and Reynolds, aged 42, initially denied they were involved in the incidents but later entered guilty pleas after Nottinghamshire Police discovered text messages between the pair that proved they had planned the incidents.

A bolt-cutter and crowbar were also discovered during searches of their home addresses.

Outlining the case, prosecutors said the crime spree began on February 25, 2023 at the same Spar store they went on to target with the telehandler.

A member of the public called 999 after spotting them trying to force open a roller shutter.

The alarm was triggered and the offenders – who wore face coverings and had tools and a torch – ran off empty-handed.

Six days later, the pair forced entry to a flat above The Vine Inn, in Churchgate, Retford and stole a bread bin that contained £1,000 in banknotes, before fleeing in a car with false plates.

Almost a fortnight later, they returned to the Spar shop and repeatedly drove a stolen telehandler into the premises, leaving glass, masonry and stock sprawled over the shop floor.

Charles and Reynolds – who have both served prison sentences for burglary in the past – were tracked down and detained, with Reynolds assaulting a police officer as he resisted arrest.

At a sentencing hearing on August 15, Charles, of Welbeck Road, Retford, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary, burglary, aggravated vehicle taking and burglary with intent to steal.

In mitigation, his defence counsel said a deterioration in his health had seen him become addicted to crack cocaine – a habit that left him with a ‘significant’ debt that saw him turn to crime.

Reynolds, of College Close, Newark, pleaded guilty to the same charges and both men were jailed for four years.

Charles received an additional one-month custodial sentence, which will be served consecutive to the four-year jail term, for an unrelated case in which he was found to have possessed nunchucks in a public place on March 27 this year.

Reynolds was given a further seven-day sentence, also to be served consecutively, for assaulting a police officer as he resisted arrest.

Following the sentencing, PC Liam O’Kane, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “These are appalling crimes and the bearing they’ve had on hardworking and law-abiding victims should not be underestimated.

“Charles and Reynolds had absolutely no thought for any of their victims and I have no doubt they would have continued to target other innocent people had we not stopped them."