CCTV catches criminal duo committing high-value theft

WATCH: Was this the perfect heist? | CCTV catches criminal duo committing high-value theft 

Two men have been convicted after breaking into an indoor market and stealing a large garden gorilla ornament.

Brian Rumley and Michael O’Brien broke into Darlington Indoor Market shortly after 11.30pm last Tuesday (March 25) and stole the ornament, worth £399, from one of the stalls.

They were spotted by CCTV operators from Darlington Borough Council, who tracked the pair on camera as they carried the ornament through the town centre to a flat just off Skinnergate.

The team alerted police who attended the property, where they found Rumley, O’Brien, and the stolen gorilla in a bedroom.

The pair were arrested and taken to police custody where they were later charged with burglary.

The gorilla was also recovered and has been returned to its rightful owner.

The duo were remanded in custody to appear at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (March 27), where they both pleaded guilty to the offence.

In a victim impact statement, the business owner said that earlier that day, a man had attended the stall and tried to haggle the price of the gorilla down.

“It seems strange to me that the same day that the gorilla has been stolen, someone has shown a great deal of interest in trying to buy the item,” he said.

“When items of this price are stolen it causes a massive loss to the business. A lot of stress and anxiety builds up as a result of these incidents and can lead to a great sense of mistrust.”

Rumley, 50, of no fixed abode, was jailed for 16 weeks while 52-year-old O’Brien, of Arcadia Court, Darlington, was jailed for three months, suspended for a year.