A brazen burglar who targeted properties near Tunbridge Wells is starting a prison sentence. On 7 August 2023, Gary Bentley went to a house in Lower Green Road, Pembury and stole food items along with a knife, after damaging a door and window. A garden fork was recovered by officers in the rear garden and Bentley’s DNA was later recovered from the handle. At around the same time, Bentley broke into a residence in Maidstone Road using some garden shears and stole some jewellery. He was also forensically linked to this burglary.
Investigators completed enquiries with local jewellers and other outlets in an effort to trace some of the stolen property. They found Bentley had deposited a necklace at a business in Tonbridge on 10 August. It was later identified as having been stolen during a Tunbridge Wells break-in earlier in the year. Bentley subsequently went to a building in Stone Court Lane on 18 December and stole some cash after using a handsaw to damage a door. The police were alerted to the incident and traces of Bentley’s DNA were later found on the saw.
On 19 January 2024, Bentley, of no fixed address, was tracked down and arrested. He was charged and later pleaded guilty to three burglaries and handling stolen property. He also admitted committing criminal damage at a property in Oast Gardens, Pembury during November 2023. Bentley, 46, appeared before Maidstone Crown Court on Monday 15 July and was sentenced to three years and three months’ imprisonment. Two further burglaries and two attempted burglaries were ordered to lie on file.
Detective Constable Celia King said: ‘Bentley is a prolific criminal who has shown a complete disregard for the impact his crimes would have on the victims. Burglary can leave residents fearful in their own homes and he should be ashamed of his actions.
Our investigators will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to track down these offenders and, once we had linked Bentley forensically to some of the crime scenes, it was only a matter of time before we located him and brought him before the court.’
