BMW thief jailed for perverting course of justice after using Northampton pal to concoct fake alibi

A serial thief who tried to use a Northampton pal as an alibi to cover up his crimes has been jailed following a cross-border investigation involving four police forces.

Darren Levy was convicted by a majority verdict of a string of burglary and theft offences in 2020, mostly involving high-end BMW cars, and by a unanimous verdict of attempting to pervert the course of justice after officers rumbled his attempt at cobbling together a false alibi following his arrest.

Levy of Parliament Street, Birmingham, was jailed for five years for burglary, attempted burglary, theft of number plates and theft of motor vehicles — plus one further year to run consecutively for perverting the course of justice.

A jury at Luton Crown Court heard the charges related to two burglaries, two thefts of motor vehicles and one attempted burglary, all of which occurred in and around Milton Keynes in July 2020. Nine more offences of theft of number plates, burglary, attempted burglary and theft of motor vehicles occurred in Bedfordshire.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Matt Acland of Thames Valley Police, said: “Burglary is a particularly nasty offence, which has a devastating and long-lasting impact on victims.

“In this trial, Levy was found guilty of a large number of offences of burglary, attempted burglary and theft, including stealing number plates from other cars, which he did in an attempt to hide his tracks. I am pleased that a jury convicted him of these offences and he will now serve a lengthy prison sentence as a result.

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“His offending was part of a series, targeting performance BMWs, and as a result of partnership working across four different forces, Levy has now been held accountable for these crimes.

“Even when the warrant was conducted in Birmingham, Levy attempted to evade justice, trying to jump from a window, holding officers from West Midlands Police at bay for some four hours before he was finally arrested.

“I hope that these convictions and sentence will reassure our communities that we will never tolerate such criminality and will work tirelessly with partners to bring offenders to justice.”