A prolific thief from Latchford who, in nearly two months, stole a number of items including bank cards, cash, makeup and sunglasses, has been jailed.
Ellis Rigby appeared at Chester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 20 August, where he pleaded guilty to four counts of theft from a motor vehicle and one count of shoplifting.
Following his guilty plea, the 23-year-old of Broadbent Avenue, Latchford, was jailed for 26 weeks and ordered to pay a court surcharge of £154.
During his court hearing, it was told that between 28 June 2025 and 10 August 2025 Rigby had targeted a commercial property in the Knutsford Road area of Latchford, stealing washing products worth around £16, and then going on to break into a number of vehicles across the area and stealing items and bank cards from inside.
On Thursday 7 August, a victim awoke at around 2.20am after receiving a CCTV notification on his phone. Reviewing his cameras, he saw that an unknown man, later identified as Rigby, had forced his way into his car that was parked outside.
Upon further inspection of the vehicle, the victim found that Rigby had stolen a pair of sunglasses and a quantity of cash that was left inside.
A short time later, the same morning, another victim was awoken by three banking transaction notifications on her phone. She noticed that two of her bank cards had been used, with one of the cards having a £66 transaction declined at a nearby fast-food restaurant. She later found that her car had been broken into.
Two days later, a third victim would receive a banking notification saying her card had been used at three separate commercial properties across the Lovely Lane area of Warrington. These transactions equated to an estimated £120 having been spent.
Again, the victim’s car had been broken into, with their cards that had been left inside having been stolen, along with several designer makeup products.
A fourth victim’s car was broken into on the same day, with Rigby again stealing a bank card that had been left inside. Using this card, he had spent £30 at one of the same convenience stores that he had previously visited on Lovely Lane.
In all instances, Rigby had been identified on CCTV footage using the stolen cards, with the times of the bank transactions correlating with the times he was witnessed on the footage attempting to buy products.
Following several enquiries, investigating officers tracked down Rigby and arrested him on Tuesday 19 August.
Upon being taken into custody, Rigby refused to come out for interview so was interviewed at his cell.
He answered no comment to officers’ questions before becoming silent and not answering altogether.
Despite this refusal to answer officers’ questions and give them his side of the story, he was subsequently charged and then eventually pleaded guilty on his first appearance.
Police Constable Andy Schofield, of Warrington’s Neighbourhood team, said: “Ellis Rigby is a prolific and opportunistic thief who has blighted the neighbourhoods of Warrington for a considerable amount of time, so I welcome the news that he has been handed a six-month custodial sentence, which will hopefully give him ample time to reflect on his actions.
“This case really does highlight the importance of keeping personal and high-value items such as banking cards, cash, clothing and makeup inside your home and not left insecure and on show in your vehicle where they can be accessed by thieves who would not think twice about breaking inside and taking them for themselves.”
1 Comment
Who leaves their bank card in the car 🙄