A prolific criminal with a record spanning 29 years has ordered by not to touch any vehicle and instructed to observe a doorstep curfew from 11pm to 6am daily until 28 March 2027.
Paul Priestley, 44, of Pennington, Orton Goldhay, was arrested by the Integrated Offender Management Team (IOM) on Monday night (27 March) following reports of a man trying car door handles in the Orton area.
On three occasions over last weekend (25 and 26 March), during the early hours of the morning he was caught on CCTV trying car door handles in Sevenacres, Orton Brimbles, Kilbride and Kelburn in Orton Northgate.
Police identified him in the footage and arrested him at the Ortongate Shopping Centre on Monday evening, where he was found in possession of a lock knife and cannabis.
Priestley, whose criminal record includes hundreds of theft-related offences, was given a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) on 20 March 2018 prohibiting him from touching or entering any unattended vehicle without the owner’s permission.
A curfew between 11pm and 6am was added the following year.
He appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (29 March), where he admitted three counts of interfering with a motor vehicle, possession of cannabis and possession of a knife in a public place.
A charge of breaching conditions of a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) was dropped in court due to the offences taking place two days after the CBO had ended.
He was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, must complete a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement and has been made subject of a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order which states:
- He must not touch or enter any unattended vehicle without the express permission of the owner
- He must observe a doorstep curfew from 11pm to 6am daily until 28 March 2027
PC Olivia Ciani, who investigated, 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.”
Advice on how to best protect your vehicle from thieves can be found on the force’s dedicated ‘keeping vehicles safe’ webpage.
