Family urged crook to hand himself in

Gary Menzies, aged 32, of Hillcroft Close, Luton, was arrested and charged with stealing a till containing £85 in cash from Maria’s coffee shop in the High Street in Harpenden and stealing a till from Gibson and Powell hairdressers last month.

He was given a 12 month community order, a six month drug rehabilitation order and an electronically monitored curfew to reside at his home address between 7pm and 7am. He was also ordered to pay compensation.

Menzies was one of two Luton men sentenced at Hatfield Remand Court on Wednesday for commercial burglaries in Harpenden and Luton.

Daniel Taylor, aged 26, of Eighth Avenue, Luton, was charged with a burglary at Jolie Café in the High Street in Harpenden and a burglary at My Hair Salon in Ashwell Avenue in Luton on April 3, 2018.

He was arrested and charged by Beds Police following an attempted burglary at the Delhi Lounge in Luton on July 31 and with being in possession of three packs of the Class C drug Diazepam.

He appeared in court the following day.

Taylor pleaded guilty to all four charges and was sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment.

Detective Sergeant Tom Evans from the Local Crime Unit said: “I’m pleased they have been dealt with for these burglaries, which has caused a lot of inconvenience and upset to the victims.

“We circulated Menzies’ photograph as he was wanted and he handed himself in after being persuaded by his family to do so.

“We won’t hesitate to do this in the future for other offenders who we cannot trace.

“Taylor was offered a slightly shorter prison sentence if he agreed to go on probation, but he refused.

“We worked closely with Bedfordshire Police on this case to bring these two men to justice and compensate the victims through court.

“If you see a suspected crime in progress, please call us on 999 – if reporting retrospectively call 101,” added DS Evans.