Man jailed for burglary and dangerous driving - Sudbury/Ipswich

A 44-year-old man who burgled a Sudbury pub and made off in the owner’s car before driving it dangerously when trying to evade police in Ipswich, has been jailed.

Paul Murray, of no fixed address, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday 13 May, where he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. He was also disqualified from driving for three years and must pass an extended retest before he can drive again.

Murray pleaded guilty to the following six offences: burglary; dangerous driving; aggravated vehicle taking; failing to provide a specimen of blood for analysis; driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence; and driving without insurance.

The first incident occurred at a public house in North Street, Sudbury, in the early hours of Tuesday 30 September last year.

The owner of the pub woke up unusually at around 1.30am and believed he had been disturbed by a noise that might have been a television, but later transpired was likely to have been Murray moving around downstairs.

When the owner got up and opened the bedroom curtains at around 7am he noticed his car was missing from outside. He then went downstairs & found the rear door ajar and that a window had been tampered with.

He went through the bar and kitchen & noticed a bottle of alcohol missing from the bar shelf and the contents of two tip jars had been taken (estimated to have contained a combined total of between £80 & £110) and the key to another car was also missing.

Moving into the cellar, he found all the lights were on and two shelves of spirits had been emptied leaving only two bottles. He also found items of food missing. CCTV footage showed an unknown man had entered the pub, consumed food and stolen the bottles of alcohol.

Police were called and began making enquiries into the incident and the vehicle was circulated as being stolen.

Later that morning, at around 9.25am, two roads policing sergeants were on patrol in an unmarked police car in Foxhall Road, Ipswich. They spotted a vehicle matching the description of the one that had been stolen from the pub travelling towards them and heading in the general direction of Ipswich town centre.  

Based on the intelligence they had, they turned the police car around and activated blue lights and sirens to intercept the suspect car. They caught up with the car and attempted to stop it near the junction with Orwell Road.

The driver – who was later found to be Paul Murray – accelerated away, driving dangerously as he swerved into oncoming traffic, travelled at 50mph in a 30mph zone, performed close overtakes of cyclists and pedestrians and narrowly avoided causing collisions.

As Murray reached the traffic light junction with Back Hamlet and Grove Lane, he contravened a red light and continued into Grove Lane at 60mph.

Murray was then slowed down by traffic allowing the officers the opportunity to try and detain him. One of them got out of the police car and attempted to open the driver’s door and get to Murray, but he then collided with the police car and trapped the officer’s arm in the door.

The other police officer blocked the stolen vehicle with the police car and then went to the assistance of his colleague by getting in the back seat behind Murray and restraining him whilst the other officer was applying handcuffs. During the struggle Murray tried to bite one of the officers, before a third officer arrived to assist with the arrest.

A pipe for smoking drugs was found in Murray’s possession and he was asked to take a roadside drug wipe which tested positive for cocaine. He was arrested and taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre, where he refused to provide a specimen of blood for analysis, resulting in him being charged with that offence.

He was also found to not hold a substantive driving licence having previously been disqualified and never taking a retest.

Inspector Byron Hearsum, of the Roads and Armed Policing Team, said: “Not content with burgling a business premises and taking a car, Paul Murray then decided to put the safety of other road users at risk by driving in a reckless and dangerous manner in his attempts to evade arrest.

“He was still not finished though and proceeded to injure one of our officers who put himself in harm’s way in trying to stop Murray from driving the car and making the arrest. The officer concerned sustained cuts, bruises and a damaged rotator cuff in his shoulder for which he is still receiving treatment.

“I am pleased to see justice has been served for the pub owner and our officers and that Murray will now spend a length of time safely off our streets and in prison.”

A picture of Murray can be found here - Sudbury/Ipswich – Man jailed for burglary and dangerous driving | Suffolk Constabulary