Six to be sentenced over chocolate factory ‘plot’ (From York Press)
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Six to be sentenced over ‘plot’ to steal lead from Nestlé chocolate factory
10:41am Thursday 1st November 2012 in News
A GANG of suspected metal thieves plotted together to steal lead from a York chocolate factory, a court heard.
Six York men – Thomas Hardcastle, 24, of Beckfield Lane, Acomb, Phillip Marc Burns, 30, of Mowbray Drive, Acomb, Gavin Karl Rutherford, 19, of Clifton caravan site, Philip Alan Morgan, 27, of Jute Road, Acomb, Shaun Horsewood, 25, of Bamsall Drive, Craig Longhawn, 26, of Poplar Street – were arrested following a series of break-ins at the Nestlé chocolate factory in Haxby Road last year.
Three of the men – Morgan, Rutherford and Hardcastle– pleaded guilty to charges of trespassing with intent to steal on a number of occasions between August and September when they appeared before York Crown Court on Monday.
The remaining three men – Burns, Horeswood, and Longhawn – had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to charges of conspiracy to burgle.
Charges against two other men, Gary Moore, 25, of Danebury Drive, Acomb and Daniel Moore, of Danebury Drive, Acomb, were dropped.
The six men are due to be sentenced on December 17. All were granted conditional bail.
Recorder Graeme Cook told the men that “all sentencing options were available”.
