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Wales Online
a day ago
- General
- Wales Online
Burglar thought he'd covered his tracks but he didn't account for the cat flap
Burglar thought he'd covered his tracks but he didn't account for the cat flap Ryan Thomas committed two burglaries, stole two cars and carried out a ram raid. But it was a cat flap that proved his undoing Ryan Thomas (Image: Gwent Police ) A creeper burglar was caught after leaving his fingerprints on a cat flap at the house he broke into, a court has heard. Ryan Thomas stole a car from the house and used it to drive to another property from which he stole a second car which he then used in a ramraid on a shop. Swansea Crown Court heard the defendant had a history of committing burglaries and car offences, and that, by the time police identified him as being a suspect in the burglaries, he was already serving a prison sentence for smashing his way into a different shop and stealing thousands of pounds worth of tobacco and e-cigarettes. Dean Pulling, prosecuting, said that on the night of March 31, 2023, in the early hours of the following morning the defendant drove to west Wales from his home in the Merthyr area before breaking into a house in Broad Street in Llandovery. He said the defendant took car keys and a box of bottles of Budweiser beer from the property before stealing the householder's Toyota Yaris vehicle. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter The court heard the victim was unaware her house had been burgled until she woke up but by then Thomas had driven the Yaris to Llandybie where he then broke into a house in Ammanford Road and stole the keys to a Volvo S80 and then the car itself. He used the Volvo to ramraid a shop at the Petro Express garage in Glanaman. Article continues below The prosecutor said that after using the car to damage the shutters of the store the defendant entered the premises wearing plastic bags on his hands and stole cigarettes and alcohol worth up to £5,000 as well as cash from the till before driving off. Thomas then drove the damaged Volvo to Swansea where he torched and abandoned it. The prosecutor said the three burglaries were separately reported to police by the victims, and investigations were launched which subsequently linked them. The court heard crime scene investigators recovered fingerprints from a cat flap at the first property and found the intruder had been able to access the door handle by putting his arm through the flap. The prints were matched to Thomas. Read about the high-tech police forensic lab which has helped to crack some of Wales' most serious crimes The court heard that the Yaris stolen in the first burglary was found around 100ft from the scene of the second burglary - the box of Bud was still in the vehicle and the defendant's fingerprints were also recovered from several of the bottles. Video doorbell footage recovered by officers investigating the second house burglary caught the defendant entering the hallway of the property. Meanwhile, part of the number plate of the Volvo was found at the scene of the garage ramraid. The prosecutor said that by the time police had identified Thomas as a suspect in the three burglaries he was already serving a sentence at HMP Parc, and he said officers "met with considerable difficulties trying to interview him". It was not until July, 2024, that they were able to speak to the defendant, and he answered "no comment" to all questions asked. Ryan Thomas, aged 30, of Darren Las, Merthyr Vale, Merthyr, had previously pleaded guilty to two dwelling burglaries, a commercial burglary, and aggravated vehicle taking when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has previous convictions for 54 offences including domestic and commercial burglaries, aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, handling stolen goods, and assaults occasioning actual bodily harm. In August, 2024, Thomas was sentenced to 18 months in prison after he and another man smashed their way into Maesycwmmer Stores in Caerphilly and stole thousands of pounds worth of tobacco and e-cigarettes, before leading police on a high-speed chase through Merthyr in a car fitted with false plates. Hywel Davies, for Thomas, said it had taken police a year to interview the defendant, and then nearly another year to charge him. He said the defendant had been putting his time in custody to good use by doing numerous courses, and he said his client had a young daughter who he "misses very very much" and with whom he hoped to regain contact upon his eventual release. Article continues below With one-quarter discounts for his guilty pleas, recorder Christopher Felstead sentenced Thomas to 31 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Thomas was banned from driving for a total of five years and three months, and must pass an extended test before he can get a licence.
South Wales Guardian
4 days ago
- South Wales Guardian
Burglar ram-raided petrol station for cigarettes and alcohol
Ryan Thomas appeared at Swansea Crown Court after admitting a spree of burglaries in Carmarthenshire which saw him steal cars from two homes before ram-raiding a garage. Thomas broke in to a home on Broad Street in Llandovery in the early hours of April 1, 2023, by reaching through a disused cat flap to open the door, prosecutor Dean Pulling said. He stole a box of Budweiser and the keys to a Toyota Yaris, and a neighbour reported hearing the car driving off at around 1.30am. Thomas drove the car some 18.5 miles, and it was found abandoned in the Llandybie area having sustained 'some damage'. After ditching the car, Thomas broke in to a nearby home on Ammanford Road and stole the keys to a Volvo S80. The court heard Thomas drove the Volvo to Petro Express petrol station on Cwmamman Road in Glanaman, where he committed 'a ram-raid style burglary' at just after 4am. Mr Pulling said Thomas was seen putting what appeared to be plastic bags over his hands and head, before attempting to lift the shutter to the garage's shop. After being unable to lift it, he reversed the car into the shutter 'a number of times', before turning around and driving into it front-on twice. This smashed through the shutter, and Thomas went inside and swiped cigarettes, alcohol, and cash from the tills. After around 40 minutes, the defendant fled in the Volvo. The car was recovered in the Swansea area, Mr Pulling said it had extensive damage and an attempt had been made to set fire to the interior. The ram raid had caused damage worth £17,820 to the petrol station. Thomas' fingerprints were found on the door and cat flap of the first home, as well as on the empty beer bottles left in the abandoned Yaris. He was seen entering the second home on the doorbell camera. However by the time officers were able to link him to the burglaries, he had been jailed for unrelated offences. The defendant, who is currently a serving prisoner at HMP Cardiff, pleaded guilty to three charges of burglary and one of aggravated vehicle taking. The court heard that Thomas, from the Merthyr Tydfil area, had 54 previous convictions and was subject to a suspended sentence and banned from driving at the time of these offences. 'The best mitigation in this case is his credit for a guilty plea,' said Hywel Davies, appearing for Thomas. Mr Davies said it was 'accepted and unavoidable' that the defendant would face a lengthy prison sentence for his offending. He said there had been a year-long delay in the defendant being interviewed, which had also led to a delay in the case coming to court. Mr Davies added that Thomas was now working to address his substance misuse issues in prison and was undergoing weekly drug testing. The judge, Recorder Christopher Felstead, sentenced Thomas to a total of 31 months. He was also banned from driving for five years and three months, and must pass an extended re-test.
South Wales Guardian
26-05-2025
- South Wales Guardian
Man admits spree of burglaries at homes and petrol station
30-year-old Ryan Thomas appeared at Swansea Crown Court charged with five offences from April 1, 2023. It was alleged that Thomas entered an address on Broad Street in Llandovery on that date and stole car keys for a Toyota Yaris. He was also accused of taking another set of car keys from a home on Ammanford Road in Llandybie after he entered the address as a trespasser. Thomas was further charged with aggravated vehicle taking, after it was alleged he took a Volvo S80 without the owner's permission and caused damage to the car and to Petro Express on Cwmamman Road in Glanaman. He was also accused of burglary from Petro Express, after he was alleged to have taken cigarettes, alcohol, and cash, as well as a separate charge of criminal damage to the petrol station. Thomas, who is currently a serving prisoner at HMP Cardiff, pleaded guilty to three charges of burglary and one of aggravated vehicle taking. He denied criminal damage. Prosecutor Dean Pulling told Swansea Crown Court that these pleas were acceptable for the Crown Prosecution Service, and no trial would be sought on the remaining charge. Judge Paul Thomas KC adjourned the case for sentence on Friday, May 30.
