Kent Police officers tracked Ronnie Mead down using the van’s tracking device and arrested him 20 minutes later, surrounded by half-opened packages.

The 33-year-old from Hunton Gardens pleaded guilty to robbery, taking a motor vehicle without consent, and cannabis possession and was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday, June 14, 2022.

Mead initially claimed to have discovered the parcels after his arrest on Thursday, 14 April 2022, but could not explain why he was also in possession of a wallet belonging to the driver of the van, who identified Mead as the perpetrator.

At around 12.55pm, the victim was making a delivery in Chaucer Road when Mead approached him aggressively, grabbing him by the top and shouting and swearing. He then took the keys to the car, climbed inside, and drove away, despite the man’s best efforts to stop him.

Kent Police were called, and officers were given information about where the vehicle was travelling. It eventually came to a stop in Godden Road, where Mead was discovered and arrested.

‘Ronnie Mead is an opportunistic criminal who thinks nothing of taking things that do not belong to him,’ said Chief Inspector Mark Hedges, District Commander for Canterbury. Fortunately for us, he had no idea that the van he was driving had a tracking device that would lead us right to him.

‘While he protested his innocence at first, even he could see how it appeared when we found him just yards from the van and surrounded by packages.’ As a result, he had little choice but to admit his crimes and will now spend a significant amount of time behind bars as a result.’