8:07 am, August 23, 2022
A serial car thief who stole £140,000 worth of luxury cars from dealerships has been ordered to pay back just £34 by a judge.
Elliot Newman, 20, stole – or attempted to steal – at least six high end vehicles from several dealerships in the North of England during a week-long spree of thefts in 2020.
Despite the fact that the majority of his crimes took place in broad daylight, a number of the cars never recovered and returned to the dealers.
The youngster, who was a teenager at the time of the offences, targeted businesses in Newcastle, Warrington and Manchester in order to pay off existing drug debts.
Among the cars he stole was an Audi SQ2, an Audi Q7 and a BMW M3, the Warrington Guardian reports.
Newman was eventually arrested at Manchester Airport and later admitted to a string of offences at Manchester Crown Square Crown Court.
He pleaded guilty to five counts of theft of a motor vehicle and a further charge of attempted theft of a motor vehicle.
He also admitted to dangerous driving in Warrington and breaching a suspended sentence order.
The court heard that Newman, of Sherbourne Road in Middleton, worked alongside an accomplice, who has not been named.
On June 10, 2020, the pair visited Manchester Audi, in the Trafford Centre where they stole an A3 in the middle of the afternoon.
Newman asked to sit inside the car before snatching the keys from the salesman and locking the doors.
Despite attempts to stop him, the two thieves made off with the car and it was never recovered.
Then, on August 17 of the same year, the pair struck again, stealing a £34,950 BMW M3 from Rix Motors in Warrington.
Later on in the day, the two men stole another car, this time a John Cooper Works Mini worth £19,500 from Halliwell Jones BMW and Mini.
The next day, Newman went to Newcastle where he stole a £40,000 Audi SQ2 and a £27,000 Audi S7.
He also attempted to take the keys to an Audi Q7 worth £44,000 but was thwarted by a salesman.
Several of the incidents were captured on CCTV with the footage later used to charge both men.
‘I took a chance on you’
Newman was already serving a suspended sentence for previously stealing a Rolex watch and a necklace, as well as two other vehicles.
He was due to be sentenced last month but judge Anthony Cross adjourned the hearing saying ‘matters are more complicated than it seems at first sight.’
The 20-year-old has now returned to court, where his sentencing was overseen by recorder Michael Duck, who handed him his original suspended sentence.
The judge heard from Daniel Harman, defending, who said his client had been ‘exploited’ by county lines drug groups, saddling him with debts that he could not pay off.
He added that Newman had ‘a lot of growing up to do’ but insisted he was ‘remorseful’.
Harman told the court: ‘He is still a young and fairly immature man with a lot of growing up to do.
‘He has had time to reflect on whether he wants to keep going in and out of prison, or has his second spell in prison taught him anything.
‘He realises he has reached a crossroads and that it is time to grow up, unless he wants to become a habitual and institutionalised criminal.’
After hearing submissions, Recorder Duck sentenced Newman to 54 months in a young offender institution.
However, he was not ordered to reimburse any of the dealers he stole from.
Despite stealing cars worth more than £140,000, the only money he was ordered to pay was a £34 victim surcharge.
He was also disqualified from driving for two years upon his release from custody.
Addressing Newman, the judge said: ‘I took an exceptional course last time in passing a suspended sentence and gave the plainest possible warning of the consequences of reoffending, but three weeks later you reoffended.
‘Your attitude to your obligations is extremely poor, to the point where the probation service is finding it difficult to offer anything other than immediate custody.
‘I took a chance on you and made it plain what I was doing was giving you an opportunity to demonstrate you had the desire to stay out of trouble.’
Newman’s accomplice is due to be sentenced next year.
Pictured: Manchester Crown Square Crown Court (PA Images)
