Gang who drove from Essex to Cheshire to raid Sainsbury's jailed

Radas Balkevicius, Jesse Orme, and Richard Mattock was all handed jail terms

A gang who drove from Essex to Cheshire to raid a Sainsbury's have been jailed.

Cheshire Police said Jesse Orme, of Romford, and Richard Mattock, of no fixed abode, worked with Skelmersdale carpenter Radas Balkevicius to raid a newly-opened store in Warrington.

The force said the gang stole more than £14,000 worth of stock and cash.

Balkevicius, 32, Orme, 32, and Mattock, 46, were jailed at Liverpool Crown Court, while three other men received suspended sentences.

A police representative said Balkevicius had worked on the construction of the Sainsbury's Local store on Manchester Road and had been a key and fob to access the building "which would form part of the group's plan".

They said that on 23 June 2022, a white Vauxhall Astra and a white Mercedes Sprinter van had travelled to Warrington from Essex "in convoy" and had changed their number plates "to try and evade police detection" on arrival.

'Nowhere to hide'

CCTV footage showed some of the gang approaching the store on foot in the early hours of the following day, before they disabled the alarm panel using Balkevicius's key and fob.

Once inside, they forced open the self-service tills before being caught again on CCTV leaving with plastic bags filled with money and cigarettes.

The Mercedes Sprinter was then driven towards the store and other members of the gang went inside wearing paper suits and face masks to steal cigarettes and alcohol.

The store's manager, who had arrived part way through the burglary, alerted police as the gang fled.

Both vehicles were caught on police cameras and within a mile of the store, officers stopped the van and arrested three of the gang.

Police said Balkevicius had worked on the construction of the Sainsbury's Local and had been a key and fob to access the building

The police representative said the car escaped, changing its number plates again, but was spotted entering Sandbach Services on the M6 to re-fuel.

A CCTV image of one of the men inside the vehicle was then circulated as wanted and he subsequently attended a voluntary interview.

An investigation of his phone led to the arrest of a fifth man, while forensic swabs of the self-service tills matched the DNA profile of a sixth member of the gang.

At court, all six men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary.

Balkevicius was jailed for three years, Orme received a sentence of two years and nine months and Mattock was sent to prison for two years and seven months.

Cheshire Police said a 36-year-old man from Romford, a 33-year-old man from Skelmersdale and a 32-year-old man from Cornwall were also give suspended sentences for their role in the plot.

Speaking after sentencing, Det Con Neil Mooney said the gang had targeted the supermarket "in the hope of making some easy money".

"They used a variety of tactics to try and evade police, including using false registration plates, but thanks to the hard work of our officers, there really was nowhere to hide, and they have now been held accountable for their actions," he added.