Moped riding thief jailed after Canterbury thefts
A thief who rode a moped on the wrong side of the road and along a pavement to try to get away from police has been caught and sentenced to two years in a young offenders’ institution. Robbie Murray, 19, was brought before Canterbury Crown Court on Friday, 13 December 2019 after he committed a series of vehicle thefts and driving offences between April 16 and September 18 2019. Murray’s offences started on 16 April 2019 when he was seen on CCTV in a store in #Canterbury taking a bottle of cider and a pair of earphones. He was later recognised on the footage by a police officer. Before he could be brought before the courts, Murray stole meat items from a shop in #Whitstable on 29 May 2019. The following month, on 18 June 2019, he returned to the same shop wearing a crash helmet and tried to steal more meat. This time he was challenged by staff and tried to make off on his moped, only to crash into an oncoming car. His scooter’s number plate fell off at the scene, leading to his arrest. On 30 July 2019, Murray confronted a woman in Whistable, telling her he would get a knife and ‘stab her son up’. He was arrested after the victim managed to get a photo of him on her mobile phone. Murray then struck again in #HerneBay on 4 September 2019, when he took a scooter from outside a house. The scooter was later found damaged in Whitstable and police tracked down Murray using DNA on a bottle he dropped at the scene and fingerprint on the bike. Two weeks later, on 17 September 2019, he took a motorbike from outside a house in King Edward Street, Whitstable and was later seen riding without a helmet and with no lights. He rode on the wrong side of the road, through a road closure and onto a pavement in a residential area before a police officer stopped him. Murray, of Cockering Road, Canterbury, was also sentenced for an offence of fraud by false representation, after falsely claiming for a taxi ride to a probation appointment, despite having travelled there on a moped, and bail offences for repeatedly failing to surrender to court. PC Sarah Copeland, who was the investigating officer on the case, said: ‘Shopkeepers, vehicle owners and others across the area have been victims of Murray’s repeat offending. ‘Good police work has led to a strong case which has now seen him locked up for a considerable length of time. ‘We will always work hard to stop moped-enabled crime and protect business owners and residents.
