Man jailed for thefts from cars in St Albans and Harpenden

A 42-year-old man has been sentenced to 40 weeks in prison for stealing from unlocked cars in St Albans and Harpenden.

Murray Bierman, of Ruthin Close in Luton, pleaded guilty to three thefts from motor vehicles, a fraud by false representation and five breaches of his community protection notice at Hatfield Remand Court yesterday.

Between Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31, Bierman stole a laptop from an insecure vehicle outside an address in Park Street. The laptop has now been returned to the victim.

A bank card was also stolen from an insecure vehicle parked in Station Road, Harpenden between April 24 and 25. The card was then used at the Shell garage, Sainsbury's, Argos and Dominos in Luton, and Bierman was captured using it on CCTV.

Bierman also stole a mobile phone from an insecure car in Park Hill, Harpenden, and it has now been returned to the victim.

Det Sgt Tom Evans said: "Bierman is well known to us and we suspected he was responsible for the vehicle thefts in St Albans and Harpenden, so we are very pleased he received a custodial sentence.

"Bierman was only interested in stealing items from insecure cars as he didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention. However, fortunately in one of the offences, doorbell camera footage captured him stealing a mobile phone from a Golf in Harpenden.

"I would strongly encourage residents to remove all valuables and lock your vehicles.

"I'd also consider investing in doorbell and security cameras, which often act as deterrents."