Burglar Gets Five Years

A prolific burglar, who stolen from homes in Sussex and Surrey, has been jailed for five years.

Anthony Murray, of Purley Way, Croydon, was sentenced on Tuesday (26 August) at Lewes Crown Court, having earlier admitted two charges of burglary, and asking for a further 102 to be taken into consideration.
The 31-year-old’s crime spree took place in Copthorne, Worth and East Grinstead and across Surrey, where he stole high value jewellery and electronic items.

Victims have been reunited with their stolen items at property open days held in Surrey, where a woman reclaimed a pair of earrings given to her by her grandmother on her 16th birthday.

Murray was brought to justice after a burglary at a farm in Worth in which thousands of pounds of jewellery was stolen.

A CCTV image of Murray showed him at the rural premises on the afternoon of 10 April this year. It showed Murray entering the property and a car at the site which he had recently brought on the internet.

The other burglary he admitted to took place at a property in Coulsdon when jewellery, electrical items and fishing equipment was taken.

Officers later discovered a large haul of stolen items at his address linking him to the crimes.

After being charged with those two offences, a further 102 burglaries dating back to March 2010, were taken into consideration. Those crimes all involved high value jewellery and electrical items from homes including two homes in East Grinstead, one in Holtye and four homes in Copthorne.

Detective Sergeant Lee Hazell, from Surrey Police who investigated the series, said: “Anthony Murray is a career criminal who we are pleased to see off the streets given his high level of offending in and around our county.
“The sentence handed to him reflects just how serious an impact his crime spree had on his victims who lost nearly £700,000 worth of goods as a result.

“It is all the more pleasing as we have been able to return some of the stolen items to their rightful owners.

“I would like to thank my team for their hard work and dedication in putting Murray behind bars and I hope this reassures the public just how seriously Surrey Police takes burglary.”