Man gets court order banning him from touching any vehicles
A prolific criminal, with a record spanning 29 years, has been banned from touching any vehicles.
Paul Priestley, 44, of Pennington in Cambridgeshire, was caught on camera trying to pry open car doors.
On three occasions on March 25 and March, 26, he was seen on CCTV attempting to gain entry to vehicles in Sevenacres, Orton Brimbles, Kilbride and Kelburn in Orton Northgate.
He was later arrested and found to be in possession of a lock knife and cannabis.
Priestley, whose criminal record includes hundreds of theft-related offences, has now been ordered not to touch or enter any unattended vehicle without the owner’s permission.
He appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, where he admitted three counts of interfering with a motor vehicle, possession of cannabis and possession of a knife in a public place.
He was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years and must complete a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
Under a Criminal Behaviour Order, he is banned from touching or entering unattended vehicles without the ‘express permission’ of the owner, and must observe a doorstep curfew from 11pm to 6am each day until March 2027.
PC Olivia Ciani, who investigated the incidents, said: ‘Priestley was released from prison in June last year and appears to have been on best behaviour right up until his CBO was due to expire.
‘He will chance his luck trying door handles of cars until he finds one that is open and will search it for anything of value that he can then sell on for cash.
‘We will continue to work with him, alongside probation and other agencies to try to steer him away from criminality however, for as long as he chooses to commit crime, we will continue to put him before the courts.’
A similar situation took place in Liverpool earlier this year, where all parking metres in the city are now off limits for one man.
A court order has prohibited Nicholas Brennan, 53, from touching them for two years.
The ban came after he was convicted of a recent theft from a parking meter in William Brown Street, Liverpool.
Brennan was specifically told not to ‘touch’ or ‘interfere’ with any parking meter in the city.
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