The four men who stripped lead from St Giles Church, Bradford on Tone, St John’s Church, Wellington and a further 34 churches acroos England have been jailed for a combined total of 40 years.
The gang, all Romanians, caused damage to churches costing £2.1 million during their spree which took place over two years from May 2018 to March 2020. Their attacks took place in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Yorkshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Suffolk, Leicestershire and Derbyshire as well as Somerset. Tons of lead were removed from church roofs and resulted in water damage to several of the buildings during heavy rainfall. In some cases this caused serious and costly structural damage. A joint operation involving Avon and Somerset Police and their counterparts in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Humberside eventually led to their arrest. The four men, who had previously pleaded guilty to the offences, were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on Wednesday 6 January.
Constantin Motescu, 32, of Stebbings, Sutton Hill, Telford, admitted 23 charges of theft and was jailed for six and a half years. Paul Buica, 25, of George Street, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to 16 thefts and was jailed for six years. Mihai Birtu, 24, of Port Street, Evesham, admitted 14 thefts and received three years and seven months.
Laurentiu Sucea, 38, of George Street, Birmingham, admitted 13 thefts and was imprisoned for six and a half years.
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Harrison Okafor
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Judith is a believer, a lover of Christ and a Gospel freak person. A passionate gospel blogger and press writer. I work with GospelHitsNaija.net Media, no 1 Gospel music platform.
