A man and woman from London have been jailed after they stole £100,000 worth of jewellery from a house in Goring.
It happened on Sunday, June 26 at arounds 5.30pm.
The victims had just returned form an antiques fair in Surrey and were unloading their car, when a woman wearing dark clothing, a face mask and baseball cap entered the driveway and took the bag containing the jewels from the hallway of the house.
She ran to a nearby vehicle and made off, however the victims had managed to record her number plate and called police.
Officers from the Roads Policing Unit stopped the car s it drove through Fittleworth near Pulborough, arresting the driver and a passenger on suspicion of theft.
PC John Bradshaw was among the officers who searched the vehicle. He said:
“I opened up the door to the back seat of the car, and I couldn’t believe it when I saw the bag containing all the jewellery was there.
“It was a great team effort to get to the vehicle so quickly, so that we could reunite the jewellery with the rightful owner.”
Officers arrested a 31-year-old woman formerly from Enfield, London, and a 50-year-old man from Southwark, London, on suspicion of theft.
Following a swift investigation by Worthing CID, Maria Liliana Artunduaga Narvaez, 31, of Heaton Road, Peckham Rye, and Ramiro Hernandez-Islas, 50, also of Heaton Road, Peckham Rye, were both charged with burglary.
Hernandez-Islas was also charged with driving 'otherwise than in accordance with a licence,' and driving without valid insurance.
They appeared before Lewes Crown Court on July 27, where they admitted the charges. They were both jailed for two years.
Speaking after the case PC Bradshaw added:
“Burglary can cause huge distress to victims, and in this case Narvaez and Hernandez-Islas targeted a vulnerable victim.
“Fortunately, thanks to some great teamwork we caught them red-handed, and when it came to court they had no choice but to plead guilty.
“We are pleased that these two offenders have been taken off our streets.”
Advice to homeowners to help prevent burglary and handy ways to make it difficult for would-be thieves is available online here.
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