Chainsaw-wielding thief hit Leeds jewellers during busy shopping day taking items worth £119,000
A chainsaw-carrying thief took £119,000 worth of goods after using the weapon to smash the windows of a jewellers at a busy shopping centre.
Horrified members of the public watched on as masked William Mangan and two others hit the shop at the Seacroft Green Shopping Centre.
Mangan was handed a lengthy jail term at Leeds Crown Court after admitting the burglary, along other offences including having a gun stashed at his home.
The jewellery-shop break in was described by the judge as being “meticulously planned”.
The court heard that driving a stolen Audi A5, the gang pulled into the busy shopping area at 11.38am on February 21 last year.
Two got out carrying chainsaws with another carrying a hammer. They smashed the windows of Christopher Brown using the chainsaws, and used them to scare away shoppers.
They snatched goods from the window displays worth more than £119,000. Security staff had the chainsaws pointed at them when they tried to get close.
The gang then got back into the car and drove off with Mangan behind the wheel. It was later found burnt out to hide any evidence.
Mangan, 38, was later arrested but released under investigation.
However, his home was searched on July 31 last year following a tip-off to police and they found a loaded blank-firing pistol.
Mangan then went on to break into the Lidl in Halton on September 18 last year. He smashed a window but left his blood behind, allowing him to be forensically linked.
He also broke into Co-op in Woodlesford on November 17. He was part of a gang that used an axe to smash their way in and steal £2,300 worth of alcohol.
It was captured on CCTV and after he was arrested, a search of his home found the same Nike jumper he wore during the break in, along with a supportive boot for a broken leg that he had also been wearing.
Mangan, of Foundry Mill Gardens, Seacroft, appeared in court this week over a video link from HMP Leeds, where he was being held on remand.
He admitted three non-dwelling burglaries, an aggravated vehicle taking and possession of a firearm without a certificate. He was already on a suspended sentence for possession of an offensive weapon.
Mitigating, Michael Walsh said that since being held on remand, Mangan had completed a “remarkable turnaround”, helping other prisoners and being trusted to tend to the prison’s birds of prey, saying it was a “much-trusted” position.
Judge Simon Batiste told Mangan: “This was a meticulously-planned offence. A vehicle was stolen, disguises prepared and items such as chainsaws and jackhammers were used to get into the property and stop other people approaching you.
“It was sophisticated and planned criminality.”
He jailed him for a total of eight years and seven months.