Luton man jailed for handling stolen goods, and drugs and driving offences

A man from Luton has been jailed for 28 months for handling stolen goods, and drugs and driving offences, on two occasions last year.
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Ryan Hemley, 23, of Bramley Court, was found guilty of handling stolen goods, possession of class A and class B drugs, and a number of driving offences.

On Friday, June 22, Beds Police received a report of two victims being robbed at around 11.45pm the previous night, by two occupants of a grey Volkswagen Scirocco.

At 2.35pm on the same day, the VW activated an ANPR camera on Old Bedford Road, Luton. Due to the report of the robbery, officers were deployed to find the vehicle with support from the helicopter unit.

Ryan HemleyRyan Hemley
Ryan Hemley

The vehicle failed to stop and drove off erratically, colliding with oncoming vehicles before coming to a stop, when the driver got out of the car and made off. The man was identified as fitting the profile of an offender from the robbery, and was also seen to throw away an object as he ran off.

The offender was identified as Hemley and arrested. The recovered object was a bag that contained cannabis and white powder, later confirmed as crack cocaine, and other drug paraphernalia.

The vehicle was found to have been taken during a burglary in Houghton Regis on 13 June, but had been fitted with different registration plates.

Hemley was subsequently arrested, and then bailed so further enquiries could be made.

On 22 December at around 6.30pm, Hemley was further arrested after being spotted driving a black Vauxhall Astra erratically on Houghton Road in Dunstable. He had been signalled to stop by police but drove off, exceeding the speed limit, ignoring road signs, and driving through red traffic lights and causing other road users to swerve to avoid him.

Police pursued the car until Hemley drove up a narrow one way street in the wrong direction, and was blocked by an oncoming vehicle.

Checks on the vehicle established the Astra also had false number plates, and a search revealed drugs hidden in a bag under the driver’s seat. It was also found that Hemley was disqualified from driving.

On Tuesday 26 March, at Luton Crown Court, Hemley was sentenced to a total of 28 months in jail. He received 18 months for handling stolen goods, nine months for possession of class A drugs and two months for possession of class B drugs, to run concurrently.

He received a further 10 months to run consecutively for dangerous driving. For driving whilst disqualified, he received three months, and for fraudulent use of a registration mark he received a further 10 months, both to run concurrently. No separate penalty was handed down for driving without insurance.

DC Richard Marshall said: “Hemley put himself and other road users at risk, not once, but twice. It is by sheer luck that his behaviour did not cause a collision, or worse.

“The sentence handed down to him will now give him ample opportunity to consider his lifestyle, and the consequences of his choices.

“We will never tolerate behaviour of this kind on our county’s streets, and we will track down those who offend, and put them behind bars.”