Man jailed for burglary after setting up fake Facebook Marketplace profile to commit offence

A man has been sentenced to a total of two years and 10 months in prison for a burglary in Pennington and other offences.

Thomas Anthony Wellman, 25, of Commercial Road in Southampton, pleaded guilty at Southampton Crown Court on 7 February 2023.

He appeared before the same court yesterday (23 March) for sentencing.

The court heard how on 7 February 2022, Wellman used a fake Facebook profile to arrange to visit an address on Corbin Road so he could view a bike that had been listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

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 21 April 2022 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 yesterday, he received an 18 month prison sentence for the burglary.

Wellman also received the following sentences, to be served consequtively:
• A 14 month sentence for dangerous driving after he failed to stop for police officers on 30 November 2022. Wellman drove at 136mph and went the wrong way around a roundabout
• Two months for two counts of assaulting an emergency worker (one to be served concurrently) after he kicked an officer and spat at another during the arrest for the above incident
• One month for breach of bail conditions after he cut his tag off on 7 October 2022.

“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.

“We want to use this result to remind people that selling online can be dangerous. We would ask sellers to be cautions, and report to us if you’ve been involved in anything that has made you feel uncomfortable or seemed suspicious.

“If someone’s message or profile seems suspicious, trust your instincts and walk away. If possible, try to avoid telling people where you live and instead meet in a public place to buy or sell an item.”