Man jailed for nearly three years after using Facebook Marketplace to steal bike from house and driving at 136mph

Thomas Wellman, 25, of Commercial Road in Southampton, used a fake Facebook profile to arrange to visit an address on Corbin Road on February 7 last year so he could view a bike that had been listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

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The victim, a man in his 30s, had left the bike in the lean-to ready for the prospective buyer to look at. After no one arrived, he went to move the bike back into his shed and discovered it was missing.

He went outside and saw a Nissan Micra driving away with the bike in the back. The vehicle was located a few hours later by officers on Shakespeare Drive, Totton, with Wellman seen walking nearby. Wellman was arrested on April 2021 after DNA at the scene returned a match to him. Analysis of his phone data showed that he was in the area of the burglary when it happened and was accessing the fake Facebook account.

Appearing at Southampton Crown Court, he received an 18 month prison sentence for the burglary. Wellman also received a 14-month sentence for dangerous driving after he failed to stop for police officers on November 30. Wellman drove at 136mph and went the wrong way around a roundabout.

He was also sentenced for two months for two counts of assaulting an emergency worker after he kicked an officer and spat at another during the arrest for the above incident. Wellman was given another month for breach of bail conditions after he cut his tag off in October. The sentence will be served concurrently.

Speaking after the sentencing, police staff investigator Sarah Stewart said: ‘Your home is somewhere you should feel safe – which is why dwelling burglaries can be so traumatic for those affected, beyond the impact of the belongings that are stolen.

‘This sentence shows we will use all the tools at our disposal, including forensics, to bring offenders to justice and I hope it reassures our communities that we take burglary very seriously.

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