Night Crawlers gang sentenced for burglaries in London, England

Five members a gang of burglars who posted rap videos on the Internet glorifying their crimes were handed prison sentences totalling more than nine years at Croydon Crown Court on Friday, 3 September.

The youths called themselves the Night Crawlers and put up a string of videos on YouTube under the name ‘NC Bangers’ featuring members boasting about their exploits, hailing themselves as ‘notorius [sic] criminals’ who would never be caught.

The gang leader, Matthew Murtagh, even taunted a police officer on the investigating team by leaving messages on his mobile phone such as ‘You’ll never find me’ and ‘I’ll be celebrating Xmas with my mates’ – but was actually arrested on 23 December 2009 hiding out in a local bed and breakfast.

Those sentenced were:

[A] Gang leader Matthew Murtagh (street name ‘Taze’) aged 20, of Brighton Road, Croydon was sentenced to three years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to burgle and three years for conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and index plates, and two months for one count of handling stolen property, all to run concurrently, making a total of three years. He asked for eight further burglary offences to be taken into consideration. Murtagh was also sentenced to two months for an offence of actual bodily harm, to run consecutively, relating to a separate incident committed in Croydon last year with other gang member Michael Hunte. Murtagh was therefore sentenced to a total of three years and two months.

[B] Michael Hunte, aged 19, of Old Lodge Lane, Kenley, Croydon, was sentenced to 28 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to burgle and 28 months for conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and index plates, to run concurrently. He also received two months sentence for the actual bodily harm committed with Murtagh, to run consecutively, making a total of two years, six months.

[C] Lee I’Anson, (street name ‘Joops’) aged 20, of Haling Park Road, Croydon, was not involved in the conspiracy to burgle, but was sentenced to a non-custodial sentence (details awaited) after pleading guilty to two counts of handling stolen goods from burglaries committed by other gang members.

[D] Kevin McBarron, (street name ‘Spoils’) aged 20, of Eldridge Road, Croydon, was sentenced to 18 months in total after pleading guilty to three counts of handling stolen property, which included two Mercedes.

[E] Daryl Axten, (street name ‘Dozey’) aged 20, of Caterham Drive, Coulsdon, was sentenced to 12 months in total after pleading guilty to two counts of burglary.

[F] Christopher Brookes, aged 19, of Court Road, Caterham, Surrey, was sentenced to 12 months in total after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal motor vehicles.

The gang’s criminal spree in Croydon was so prolific that the burglary rate in the borough plummeted to an average of one overnight burglary per week after they were picked up by the police.

They targeted residential homes, often swooping late at night while the residents were fast asleep. The high performance cars they focused on stealing were frequently seized with their keys, which allowed the vehicles to be sold on or potentially used in other crimes.

The proactive operation to arrest and prosecute the gang was carried out by the London Crime Squad, (LCS) with assistance from Croydon borough officers.

The victim impact statements submitted to court showed that some of them are still coping with the trauma caused by the gang’s activities. One victim, a mother, has been caused such anxiety and is so fearful for the family’s safety she is afraid to stay alone in her own house at night. Her husband’s statement concluded: "Our quality of life has considerably diminished since this burglary."

Another victim told in his statement of the extent of the strain placed on his family. His wife still cannot sleep and is extremely anxious about being away from her home after dark, having previously been very independent. His young son is also now markedly more withdrawn.

Acting Detective Inspector Lee Hill, of the London Crime Squad said: "These sentences demonstrate the Met’s commitment to tackling these offences. Burglary is a heinous crime, which can have a devastating impact on its victims. Those responsible should be in no doubt of our resolve to arrest them and bring them to justice.

"The London Crime Squad will continue to disrupt those criminal networks involved in serious acquisitive crime, through intelligence-led policing operations. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank officers from Croydon borough for their commitment and dedication throughout this operation."