Serial bike thief with more than 100 prior convictions jailed for nine months

A serial bike thief has been jailed for more than nine months for a string of offences including stealing a bike from Peterborough United Football Club’s training ground after arriving there on a different bicycle.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary say that Kevin Davis, aged 38, was arrested at his home in Orton Goldhay on Wednesday 10 November on suspicion of committing a number of thefts of bicycles throughout the city.

According to the force, his latest one-man crimewave began on 2 October when he stole six DVDs from a Morrisons supermarket on Lincoln Road, Walton, hiding them in his coat.

A security guard tried to prevent him from making off, but he escaped on a bike.

Four days later, he struck at the football club’s training ground, swapping the bike he rode on to get to the facility on Oundle Road, New Fletton for another one he found parked at the facility.

He was then caught on CCTV on 12 October stealing a bike from Peterborough Regional College in Park Crescent.

Four days after that, he tried to steal bikes belonging to a mother and her daughter from outside a Dobbie’s Garden Centre in Hampton.

The bikes were both secured with D locks which Davis damaged as he tried to remove them, and he then tried to steal another bike but fled when he was disturbed as he attempted to remove the lock.

On 18 October, he was once again caught on CCTV as he stole a bike from outside the Serpentine Green Shopping Centre in Hampton.

Davis was charged with stealing the six DVDs from Morrisons, as well as three counts of bike theft and two counts of attempted bike theft.

Initially, he pleaded not guilty, but he subsequently admitted the offences when he appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Friday 19 November.

He was handed a 28-week jail sentence, which also triggered a 12-week suspended sentence for bike theft initially handed down in May this year, taking his total sentence to 40  weeks in jail.

Investigating officer PC James Greening said: “Davis has more than 100 previous offences relating to theft and similar crimes – he is a prolific criminal who we have been able to put before the courts and send back to prison.

“We are now working with the courts to apply for a Criminal Behaviour Order to be put in place which will put strict conditions in place for when Davis is released from prison next year, any breaches of them will be an arrestable offence,” he added.