Wrexham men jailed after crime spree to evade prison recall

Two men who knew they were due to be returned to prison embarked on a two-day crime spree across Wrexham, attempting to steal cars and raiding unlocked vehicles for cash and keys.

Ryan Seaman, 28, and Steven Baker, 31, both from Ruabon, Wrexham, were convicted of a string of offences committed on 30th and 31st May this year. The pair had been living in a bail hostel when they learnt they were facing recall to prison.

Caernarfon Crown Court heard the men tried to steal a car “to get out of the area” before targeting several locations. They stole £40 from an unlocked car, took keys from a van, and made off with a vehicle containing a handbag inside. Police traced the stolen car and arrested both men.

Defence counsel Jade Tufail, representing Seaman, told the court her client had struggled with drug addiction before his offending but now has a “strong desire to break that cycle”. Seaman, who has plastering skills, hopes to work for his brother’s plastering business.

Defence counsel Dafydd Roberts, representing Baker, said his client is not proud of his behaviour. Despite having an “appalling” criminal record, Baker says he is “trying to break free of this cycle of offending”.

Sentencing the pair, His Honour Timothy Petts said: “You had absolutely no consideration for the consequences of what you were doing to your victims.”

The judge noted that people had been present in houses during the incidents and the defendants were “going on the run” to avoid recall to prison.

Both men were jailed for 13 months for attempted burglary, with no separate penalties imposed for the thefts.