A slippery burglar who took police on a four month wild goose chase across four counties has finally been jailed. Chad Goodall, 44, of no fixed address, was sent to prison for 11-and-a-half years at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday (July 16), after admitting burglary and causing injury by dangerous driving. He also admitted burglaries in Surrey and Crayford, South East London.
After breaking into a home in Sevenoaks, at around 1:30pm on December 22 2033, and stealing designer handbags, watches, jewellery, and an Audi E-tron, Goodall fled in the car to the village of Wilmington, Sussex, and got in a car he had stolen 10 days earlier from Crayford. Police arrived at the scene eight hours later then tracked his movements, but he had left before they could find him.
Around two months later, on February 25 this year, Goodall was fleeing police, driving on the wrong side of the road in Crockenhill, a Kent village near Orpington, when he smashed into a motorbike before running away on foot. The bike rider and their pillion passenger suffered multiple injuries.
In a search of Goodall’s vehicle, police found a burglary kit with number plates, gloves, face coverings, a screwdriver, window punches, and a blank car key.
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Around a week later, on March 5, Goodall was finally arrested on Peckham High Street, South London, while he was driving a stolen Toyota CHR. This time police recovered another burglary kit, with a knife, number plates, hacksaw, crowbar, gloves, face covering, and some cannabis.
Investigating officer, DC Joanna Slevin, said: “Goodall is a repeat offender with a flagrant disregard for the law. In his bid to evade capture, he completely ignored the safety of two road users, and two people sustained serious injuries as a direct consequence of his actions.
“Furthermore, burglary is an invasive crime, often leaving its victims suffering more than just the loss of physical items. Goodall neglected to consider the impact of his crimes on the victims, thinking only of lining his pockets with the proceeds. The sentence imposed by the judge reflects the severity of the damage Goodall caused, and serves as a reminder that crimes does not pay.”
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