Prolific criminal behind bars after committing string of offences in Newcastle

A prolific criminal is now behind bars after police teams worked together to get him arrested, charged and put before court.

David Cheetham has plagued the Walker and High Heaton areas of Newcastle in recent weeks, carrying out a string of crimes during the early hours on days across late August and early September.

Cheetham’s offences included burglaries, attempted burglaries at a number properties, a theft from a vehicle and several vehicle interference incidents.

One of these saw the 33-year-old take a bottle of whiskey from a summer house while on another occasion he swiped a drill and several bottles of a wine from a resident’s garage building. 

Northumbria Police’s Newcastle East Neighbourhood Policing Team, Newcastle Response Policing Team and its High Impact Team joined together to collate intelligence on Cheetham, which led to his arrest on September 3.

Further enquiries by officers saw him charged with four counts of burglary, seven counts of vehicle interference and one count of theft from a motor vehicle.

Cheetham, of no fixed above, pleaded guilty to all of the offences against him at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, September 4.
At the same day at the same court, he was handed a six-month jail sentence.

Following Cheetham’s sentencing, Inspector Anita Morgan, of Northumbria Police, said: “This was superb policing from our teams to trace Cheetham, arrest him and then get him charged to be put before court the following day.

“He has been a real menace to the Newcastle communities my team serve in recent weeks and it is only right that he is now behind bars having admitted a series of offences.

“Following joined up working across different teams we were able to pull together a strong case against Cheetham and he then pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.”

Insp Morgan added: “We hope this case serves as a warning to anyone who is thinking of targeting homes and vehicles to burgle that we are determined to fully investigate every report and bring those responsible to justice.

“Burglary is an invasive crime which can quite often have a last impact on victims and it is something we will simply not tolerate.

“As always, we would continue to ask those in our communities to get in touch if you see anybody acting suspiciously in your area, as this helps us to build on our intelligence picture and identify offenders.”

Anyone who sees something suspicious in their area can send Northumbria Police and direct message on social media, use the live chat function on the website or use the report forms, also on the website.

For those unable to contact the Force via those ways, call 101.

In an emergency, or if a crime is taking place, always ring 999.