Ram-raider is jailed after going on the run

A CONVICTED criminal who was involved in a ram-raid on a Broadway convenience store and then disappeared the day before he was due to be appear in court has been found and jailed.

David Benyon was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison yesterday (Thursday) after absconding from Worcester Crown Court while on court bail the day before he was convicted.

The 24-year-old from Cheltenham, was convicted for conspiracy to burgle last July in relation to a ram-raid on the Nisa Store in Bibsworth Avenue in 2009 in which a cashpoint machine was stolen.

Benyon's crimes included burglary, the theft of a Land Rover which was used to smash into the store, a further attempted theft of a second Land Rover, robbery and stealing a disc cutter.

Just before 9am yesterday, officers from Gloucestershire Police attended a home at Monkscroft Villas on Princess Elizabeth Way in Cheltenham and found Benyon at the address on the six-month anniversary of his conviction.

Three other people were arrested at the address including a 44-year-old woman on suspicion of assisting an offender, a 46-year-old man was on suspicion of assisting an offender and assaulting a police officer and a 16-year-old boy on suspicion of assisting an offender and possession with intent to supply a class A drug.

Benyon was arrested under a crown court warrant and transported to Worcester Crown Court where His Honour Judge Juckes QC sentenced him to his original seven years imprisonment plus a further four months for an offence of breaching the Bail Act.

Detective Inspector Stuart Murphy, said: "We have put a lot of effort into tracking down David Benyon, but he has done everything he can to avoid justice, keeping constantly on the move.

"Now he is heading to jail where he belongs.

"In his greed to take cash from the Nisa ATM, he caused severe structural damage to the shop, totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds, after he stole a local resident's 4x4, writing it off in the raid.

"It is nearly four years since he committed the crime, so I am pleased for the community in Broadway that he is now getting what he deserves and facing time in prison."

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