Southampton man jailed for robbery and stealing car

A Southampton man has been jailed for several offences including a robbery and stealing a car.

Aaron Folan, 40, of Exeter Close, Southampton, appeared at Southampton Crown Court on Friday, 13 January where he was sentenced to 5 years and 1 month in prison.

This comes after he pleaded guilty to robbery, theft of a motor vehicle, two counts of possession of a Class A drug and two counts of shoplifting.

The robbery related to an incident at 11.50am on 12 October 2020. A G4S driver had picked up a cashbox containing £17,500 from McDonalds in Swaythling and was returning to his van in the car park when he was barged to the floor and kicked by Folan.

He then managed to take the cashbox and ran to a white Transit van parked in a bus stop in Burgess Road nearby before fleeing the scene.

The driver only sustained minor graze injuries thanks to the protective gear he was wearing. The money was not recovered.

Officers conducted enquiries and arrested Folan on 17 December 2020 at an address in Hill Lane.

A quantity of Class A drugs were found in a toilet bowl in the bathroom and wraps containing more Class A drugs were found on Folan when he was taken into custody.

The motor vehicle theft took place on 18 December 2021. At around 7.30am, Folan broke into Hollybrook Car Centre in Hill Lane, Southampton and stole a Volvo car.

The owner of the car dealership was contacted shortly afterwards on social media to say the Volvo was parked in Wavell Road in Bitterne and the vehicle was recovered to a safe location.

DNA swabs taken of the steering wheel linked Folan to the car.

The shoplifting offences relate to Folan stealing two crates of beer from Tesco Express in West End Road on 8 October 2022 and Lego box sets worth £339.97 from John Lewis in West Quay on 14 December last year.

A Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesman said: “Folan’s crime spree has come to an end now he is behind bars, and Southampton is a safer place for it.

“Robbery is a serious offence and we know the impact that vehicle theft in particular has on the community. I hope this result shows the lengths we will go to to make sure those responsible face justice.

“Please continue to report incidents to us so we can investigate and put other robbers and thieves behind bars.”

Call us on 101, report online via our website or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

For advice on how to stop your vehicle being stolen, visit https://www.hampshire.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/keeping-vehicles-safe/preventing-car-vehicle-theft/