Man convicted following string of car key burglaries

A man has received a jail sentence of three years and seven months after committing a number of car key burglaries in rural parts of Somerset.

Anthony Rodriguez-Taylor, of Sea Mills, was sentenced today (Thursday 26 May) at Bristol Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to breaking into homes in the middle of the night and stealing car keys to expensive high-powered cars.

Rodriguez-Taylor, aged 22, was a ‘key member’ of a group of offenders who took part in the burglaries around Avon, Somerset and Wiltshire force areas.

He would target properties in mostly rural areas, looking for high-powered cars such as Volkswagen Golf Rs and Audi S Lines which were parked outside the addresses on the road or drives.

The group then broke into the homes through the windows and doors in the middle of the night, often while the victims were asleep, and steal car keys and, on occasion, money and other personal belongings such as handbags.

The cars were often left badly damaged, with internal parts of the cars being ripped out which contained tracking equipment, before being found abandoned in the south Bristol area.

Rodriguez-Taylor was charged and pleaded guilty to:

• Burglary in Barton St David on Monday 8 November 2021 where he forced entry to a home in the middle of the night and stole two handbags.
• Burglary in Abbots Leigh on Sunday 30 January 2022 where Rodriguez-Taylor and a second man used a long-handled tool to smash the front door open and stole money.
• Attempted burglary in Abbots Leigh on Saturday 12 February 2022 in which Rodriguez-Taylor, along with three other suspects, climbed the wall of a victim’s home and spent an hour looking to gain access to the house, damaging the property.
• Dwelling burglary and theft of a vehicle in Abbots Leigh on Saturday 12 February 2022. The victims were away when Rodriguez-Taylor gained access to a property and stole a Mini Cooper S.
• The Mini was then used to ram a residential garage in Brislington and a plastic tub was stolen.

Rodriguez-Taylor also asked for a further 27 offences to be taken into consideration. These offences included the theft of multiple cars, including an Audi TT, Audi S5, Volkswagen Golf R, VW Golf R, Audi Q7 and a BMW.

Videos of the stolen cars were uploaded onto TikTok, showing the vehicles being driven quickly.

Lead Investigating Officer, PC Jim Card, from the Burglary Focus Team on Op Remedy, said: “Significant time and effort went in to this investigation over several months. This is a great result for the team and justice for those victims who, not only had their possessions stolen, but also had their homes broken into and their privacy breached.

“An investigation to identify further offenders is still ongoing but it would appear Rodriguez-Taylor was a key member of the gang as, after he was placed on remand in February 2022, the offending considerably slowed down.”

Rodriguez-Taylor was also banned from driving for 40 months and ordered to take an extended driving test.

He also had £1,147.50 of available assets confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act.