Three jailed for ATM digger theft in Crumlin

Three men have been jailed after admitting their roles in a cash machine theft near Crumlin in 2019.

Patrick Close, 23, from Beechview Courtyard in Crumlin, David McClurkin, 25, from Craigburn in Antrim, and Lee Wilson, 33, from Belfast's Ballyutoag Road, will have their sentences divided between prison and supervised licence.

The cash machine contained £59,090 and was valued at £16,000.

The court heard a digger had been used in the theft at a filling station.

Belfast Crown Court heard the trio also admitted two counts of criminal damage on the date of the theft, by causing damage to both the service station on Tully Road and a Landrover.

A four-and-a-half year sentence was handed to Wilson for early admissions he made to police.

Close and McClurkin were sentenced to five years and three months.

The incident happened at about 03:55 GMT on 30 April 2019.

The court heard the digger had been stolen from a nearby field and later set on fire.

Crown barrister Suzanne Gallagher said police found the Landrover after it crashed on nearby Lylehill Road, driven from the scene by Wilson, who did not have a driving licence.

Ms Gallagher said he was arrested and the cash machine was recovered by police.

The court heard there was no CCTV footage that clearly identified the perpetrators at the service station, nor physical evidence to place the defendants at the scene.

Wilson admitted he had driven the Landrover to the garage and waited for the cash machine to be stolen, but refused to name his co-accused.

Co-defendants Close said "no comment" during police interviews, while McClurkin said he had been sleeping at the time of the theft.

After all three admitted their roles, the prosecutor said she believed there were "other persons unknown in this operation".

A barrister for Wilson said his client was "offered a one-off payment" for his role in the operation and had accepted "it was going to be something illegal".

Close's barrister said the defendant, then aged 21, had a "sense of immaturity" and "deeply regrets" his involvement.

McClurkin's barrister said he was not involved in the planning of the theft and "hasn't been in trouble before and hasn't been in trouble since".

Judge Stephen Fowler QC, who was told of other similar ATM thefts during this period, said he accepted the defendants did not plan the theft.

However, he remarked their actions affected both the service station and the community.