Jailed: The burglars who targeted care homes, schools and doctor’s surgeries

Darren Wykes, left, and George Quinn

 

Two men have been jailed and two others handed suspended sentences for a series of 46 ‘sneak in’ burglaries that targeted at least 48 victims across care homes, schools, doctor’s surgeries and even hospices.

Over a two-year period between 2023 and 2024, the co-conspirators targeted vulnerable organisations in 13 different counties that spanned mainly the East and West Midlands, but also reached as far as Dorset and Hampshire. 

But a dogged investigation from Lincolnshire Police led by Det Sgt Adam Petty - working with a single analyst and one financial investigator - uncovered the gang’s criminality. Despite them targeting 16 doctor’s surgeries, 10 care homes, seven schools, five hospitality venues, five hotels and two hospices, our persistence and attention to detail snared the gang, leading to their arrests in 2024 and their eventual sentencing today, at Lincoln Magistrates' Court for conspiracy to commit burglary and fraud:

• Darren Wykes (46) of Kempley Avenue, Coventry, was sentenced to five years and five months. 
• George Quinn (57) of Ansty Road, Coventry, was sentenced to five years.
• David Ovington (59) of Skipton Gardens, Coventry, was sentenced to a 21-month term, suspended for two years. 
• Daniel Sutherland (40) of Sedgemoor Road, Coventry, was also sentenced to a 21-month term, suspended for two years. 

All four were part of a highly organised criminal gang preying on unsuspecting people as they worked, deceiving and exploiting them for their own selfish financial gain. The gang leveraged their cross-border activity to evade detection.

Det Sgt Petty, of our Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: "These unscrupulous fraudsters targeted hard-working people doing their utmost for their local communities, using every trick in the book to deceive and manipulate their victims.

"They would callously engineer a spurious scenario to create a situation of panic, taking advantage of the victims while at their most vulnerable, to fraudulently obtain their PIN. But through sheer hard work and dedication and meticulous data analysis, we have been able to bring these offenders to justice.

"For a force with such limited resource, we are delighted to have helped deliver justice for so many victims."

The group’s main tactic would see Wykes unlawfully enter a premises and target unattended bags or jackets to steal purses or wallets. Wykes would call Quinn using unregistered burner phones used exclusively for passing him details of the stolen cards and wallet contents.

Quinn would then call the reception of premises from where the wallet was taken – claiming to be from the bank named on the card, or a police officer – and ask to urgently speak with the person named on any debit cards that Wykes had stolen. He would provide false details on how their purse or wallet had been found, making up spurious stories of having been notified of someone trying to use their cards in various stores.

The victim would check their bag or jacket and find that their purse or wallet was missing, which lent more credibility to Quinn’s false claims. In some cases, they would provide their PIN ‘to be able to reverse these fraudulent transactions’.

In the audio clip below (please see YouTube clip at the foot of this page), Quinn convinces a victim that her cards have been stolen from outside her place work. He also makes use of receipts left in her purse to convince her that he is genuine.

While Quinn was making the call, Wykes would be on standby inside a shop using a burner phone. As soon as Quinn provided the PIN, he would buy either expensive electrical items or use the card to obtain high value amounts of foreign currency from current exchange outlets. He would also use stolen driving licences as identification for these transactions.

Wykes was often seen wearing a blue baseball cap and covid mask, making it difficult to cross-check his identity.

Wykes entering a travel agent in Skegness to purchase £4,000 in foreign currency using a stolen debit card

During their two-year operation, the gang used 20 phones – six of which were burner phones, which are cheap phones loaded with prepaid credit. They are often discarded after a short time in an attempt to avoid being traced. They also used four vehicles.

Wykes saw £447,000 go through his bank account, £127,000 of which was cash paid in at Post Offices in the Coventry area. We are now pursuing action through the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover stolen property and funds.

Notes: Lincolnshire Police worked on this operation with Forces from Avon and Somerset, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire, Thames Valley, West Mercia, West Midlands and Wiltshire as part of the investigation.

Timeline of offences:

Date	Location	Location Type
23/03/2023	Doctors Surgery, Lincoln	Doctors Surgery
23/03/2023	Doctors Surgery, Market Rasen	Doctors Surgery
23/03/2023	Care Home, Market Rasen	Care Home
27/03/2023	Care Home, Louth	Care Home
27/03/2023	Doctors Surgery, Boston	Doctors Surgery
28/03/2023	Care Home, Rushden	Care Home
30/03/2023	Care Home, Leicester	Care Home
31/03/2023	Care Home, Tewkesbury	Care Home
31/03/2023	Doctors Surgery, Kiddermister	Doctors Surgery
12/04/2023	Doctors Surgery, Northampton	Doctors Surgery
12/04/2023	Doctors Surgery, Wellingborough	Doctors Surgery
14/04/2023	Care Home, Woodhall Spa	Care Home
18/04/2023	Doctors Surgery, Arundel	Doctors Surgery
18/04/2023	Doctors Surgery, Worthing	Doctors Surgery
18/04/2023	Doctors Surgery, Southampton	Doctors Surgery
19/04/2023	School, Dorset	School
25/04/2023	Care Home, Tittensor	Care Home
25/04/2023	Doctors Surgery, Rugeley	Doctors Surgery
26/04/2023	Doctors Surgery, Rushden	Doctors Surgery
27/04/2023	Doctors Surgery, Tamworth	Doctors Surgery
03/05/2023	Doctors Surgery, Alford	Doctors Surgery
28/09/2023	School Wiltshire	School
29/09/2023	Doctors Surgery, Dorset	Doctors Surgery
19/02/2024	Care Home, Warminster	Care Home
19/02/2024	Hotel, Warminster	Hotel
22/02/2024	Restaurant, Hampshire	Hospitality
04/03/2024	Care Home, Melksham	Care Home
04/03/2024	School, Melksham	School
05/03/2024	Doctors Surgery, Bristol	Doctors Surgery
18/04/2024	Hospice, Banbury	Hospice
03/05/2024	Doctors Surgery, Shropshire	Doctors Surgery
03/05/2024	Restaurant, Cannock	Hospitality
03/05/2024	Hotel, Melton Mowbray	Hotel
08/05/2024	Hotel, Banbury	Hotel
08/05/2024	Hotel, Chipping Campden	Hotel
08/05/2024	Restaurant, Worchester	Hospitality
08/05/2024	School Chipping Campden	School
09/05/2024	School, Bromsgrove	School
09/05/2024	Restaurant, Broadway	Hospitality
16/05/2024	School, Stafford	School
16/05/2024	School, Stafford	School
16/05/2024	Hospice, Lichfield	Hospice
22/05/2024	Care Home, Derbyshire	Care Home
24/05/2024	Restaurant, Woodstock	Hospitality
24/05/2024	Hotel, Oxford	Hotel