A man has been sent to prison for four-and-a-half years for a cash machine raid at the Co-op store in Masham, near Ripon.
David William Young, 32, from Percy Street in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court on Friday 11 January 2013 after previously pleading guilty to the theft of the cash machine and stealing a JCB and a Mitsubishi L200 pick-up truck.
The incident occurred at the Co-op on Park Street just before 3am on Monday 23 January 2012.
A JCB was used to remove the cash machine from the wall of the building. The cash machine was then transported on the back of a Mitsubishi pick-up truck. Both vehicles were stolen locally that same morning.
Young left Masham along Leyburn Road. A short distance outside the town, an attempt was made to gain access to the cash machine using grinding tools. This was unsuccessful and the cash machine and its contents were recovered by North Yorkshire Police, along with the JCB and the Mitsubishi.
Following extensive police enquiries, Young and a 27-year-old man were arrested in connection with the burglary. The latter was subsequently released without charge.
Young was charged with the three offences and brought to justice almost a year on from the incident.
Detective Constable Andy Rawlings of Harrogate CID, who led the investigation, said:
This was clearly a pre-planned crime with the sole intention of targeting the cash machine at the Co-op store in Masham.
Whilst it may have appeared crude, the fact that both the JCB and the pick-up truck were stolen locally just prior to the incident demonstrates a high level of organised criminality.
What David Young didn’t count on was the tenacity of North Yorkshire Police and the local community to investigate and secure justice for the victims.
The four-and-a-half year prison sentence handed to Young is very satisfying and sends out a very stark warning to other travelling criminals who foolishly believe that North Yorkshire and the City of York is an easy target.
