Serial Burglar Jailed After Crashing Stolen Car Into Police

A serial offender with more than 120 crimes on his record has been jailed after smashing a stolen car into a police vehicle during a dramatic chase through Merthyr Tydfil. 🚗💥

Carl Dudley, 42, had earlier broken into a family home at 4am on March 29, using a stone to smash a window whilst a couple and their two young children slept upstairs. The father, who was awake, spotted Dudley at the bottom of the stairs and shouted “who’s there” – but the intruder escaped back through the broken window, taking keys for the house and two cars.

Police found Dudley driving the stolen Hyundai i30 in a “dangerous and erratic” manner at 9.30am. Despite officers deploying a Stinger device to deflate the tyres, he continued accelerating and tried to drive around a police roadblock.

“A police vehicle was positioned in the road to block the defendant’s path but he tried to drive around and instead collided with it at speed, to the point where the police vehicle’s airbags were deployed,” prosecutor Pamela Kaiga told Cardiff Crown Court.

The officer inside suffered back pain and hand swelling that was still troubling him seven weeks later. When arrested, Dudley told officers: “I am sorry. I want to go back to prison. I have done the burglary, I will get two years but only serve half.”

The dad-of-two from Gurnos pleaded guilty to burglary, aggravated vehicle-taking and driving without a licence or insurance, plus fraud for using a stolen bank card to buy cigarettes.

His barrister Martha Smith-Higgins said his drug addiction stemmed from childhood trauma, telling the court: “He was motivated purely by money for drugs. When he is sober, as he is now in custody, he can see the consequences of his actions. He has written a letter to his victims, acknowledging they would have worked hard for the items he stole.”

Judge Shomon Khan said the burglary must have been “very frightening” for the victims, adding: “Everyone wants to feel safe in their own home.” He jailed Dudley for three years and banned him from driving for five years and six months.