House burglar from High Wycombe sent to prison

3:20pm Thursday 31st January 2013 in News By Andy Carswell

Luke Soffe Luke Soffe

A BURGLAR has been jailed for four and a half years for his part in a spate of break-ins carried out while his victims were asleep.

Luke Soffe was part of a gang that carried out a total of ten nighttime burglaries or attempted burglaries in Luton, Flitwick and Hazlemere in April and May.

The 20-year-old, of Lorraine Close, High Wycombe, was initially arrested by police on April 19 after officers in Hazlemere stopped him in a car that had been stolen from a house in Luton earlier the same night.

He and 23-year-old co-defendants Christopher South and Paul Dennett were pulled over after their third attempted burglary of the night in Wellfield.

But Soffe and South, of The Grove, Luton, went on to offend again in May as the pair were joined by 20-year-old Callum Holton in a spree of seven burglaries and attempted burglaries carried out in Flitwick in the space of a single week.

All of their victims were asleep when the offences were carried out.

Soffe and South both pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit dwelling house burglaries during a hearing at Luton Crown Court. Dennett, of Dunstable Road, Luton, and Holton, of High Town, Luton, both admitted one count of the same charge.

Soffe was put behind bars for four and a half years and given an 18 month driving ban by Judge Stuart Bridge. South received the same jail term, with Dennett being caged for five years and Holton for two.

Detective Inspector Paul Baron of Bedfordshire Police said: "These men have admitted their guilt and received significant sentences as a result, for which we are pleased.

"I hope that seeing them brought to justice will go some way to alleviate the anguish and fear felt by their victims whose personal sanctuary was breached the night they broke in and stole from them."

Comments(13)

realist_highwycombe says...
4:17pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Good work by officers from both Bedfordshire and TVP there.

Even with good behaviour he will be in for a few years which is a nice thought.

Enjoy your next few summers!

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deecee01 says...
4:33pm Thu 31 Jan 13

I agree, best place for him, but watch out for the do-gooders on here who will say they feel sorry for him!

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SuperSharpShooter says...
9:18pm Thu 31 Jan 13

let's hope he has a miserable time..

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peesh64 says...
10:11pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Bet the scumbag will be out in a few months and claiming compensation (and I bet he gets it) ...

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realist_highwycombe says...
1:56am Fri 1 Feb 13

Why will he be out in a few months and why would he get compensation?

Even if with current legislation he is eligible for automatic release after half his sentence he will still be locked up for over 2 years!

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peesh64 says...
2:48am Fri 1 Feb 13

realist_highwycombe wrote:
Why will he be out in a few months and why would he get compensation?

Even if with current legislation he is eligible for automatic release after half his sentence he will still be locked up for over 2 years!
Because in this messed up world it is the way it works. The victim gets nothing and the scumbag who did the crime gets everything. Would love him to break into my place. He would not need a lawyer... just an ambulance.

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Honey33 says...
3:53am Fri 1 Feb 13

One criminal off our streets, I wish there were few more similar stories so that public can have some faith on our police.

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peesh64 says...
4:33am Fri 1 Feb 13

Honey33 wrote:
One criminal off our streets, I wish there were few more similar stories so that public can have some faith on our police.
The same police who know who the drug pushers are and leave them alone ? TVP are a joke the same as the Hampshire police.. Easy points get rewards...

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Bill Taxpayer says...
1:47pm Fri 1 Feb 13

Pity he will be out so soon - he'll do it again for sure. Should have got 10 years (that it, 10 years to serve).

And what is the point of giving him an 18 month driving ban when he's going to be in prison for the next 2 years? Ridiculous! Would make more sense to start his ban the day he is released - and make it a 5 year ban.

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J B Blackett says...
3:24pm Fri 1 Feb 13

Convicted drivers can serve driving bans in jail, Auto Express has learned

Drivers locked up for serious motoring offences can serve out their driving bans while in prison, Auto Express has discovered.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said disqualifications kick in on the first day of an offender’s sentence, rather than after they are released.

The news is a bitter blow for road safety campaigners, who lobbied the Government for a change to the law three years ago.

Read more: http://www.autoexpre
ss.co.uk/car-news/co
nsumer-news/61869/pr
isoners-serve-drivin
g-bans-behind-bars#i
xzz2Jf4Gogsz

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realist_highwycombe says...
4:27pm Fri 1 Feb 13

peesh64 wrote:
Honey33 wrote:
One criminal off our streets, I wish there were few more similar stories so that public can have some faith on our police.
The same police who know who the drug pushers are and leave them alone ? TVP are a joke the same as the Hampshire police.. Easy points get rewards...
Of course yeah because pursuing a number of criminals, arresting them and putting them through the courts where they receive a sentence of over four years is "easy". What a silly post.

May I point you in the direction of the Bucks Herald. Please take a look at the press releases there. Two more dealers have just been chagred and remanded and around 25 are serving years behind bars following a massive anti-drugs operation.

Kind of makes your post about them leaving drug pushers alone completely redundant. Although of course I am sure in your mind they should be arresting every single person left right and centre with little evidence or people supporting them in gathering the evidence.

Cant do right from wrong.

And before you respond as I say please go on that website and see just how many years the drug pushers as you call them are serving.

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Stand up for England says...
7:05am Sat 2 Feb 13

The problem is the legal aid process and the lack of minimum sentencing. A slug on the ar%e of humanity such as this one are arrested time and time again. As soon as they're in custody, they demand "I want my brief". Let's get this straight, you don't work, you don't pay tax but the legal aid is paid for by the tax payer... Mr Slime bag, that makes it MY brief that your using. Mr Brief turns up; he's convinced this vermin "everytime you get arrested, ask for me" .. lots of money for Mr Brief who advises 'No comment" .. and that's the biggest joke in the legal system !! .... Mr sh*t for brains is bailed back to the police station and released while enquiries are carried out by police. When Mr sink scum returns, Mr Brief is called again and ching, ching .. "can someone help me with my wallet". He advise "No comment" again and this could go on for 3,4,5 even more times .. and it's all 'ching, ching'. Eventually, Mr Pond Filth is charged and bailed to court where Mr Brief is paid again and Mr Pond Filth suddenly pleads guilty and Mr Brief gives such a heart rendering plea ... M'lud reduces any sentence for the admission and the plea made by Mr Ching, Ching. The fact Slime bag made no comment on 3,4,5 occasions, wasted hours of police time, which is not even put to M'lud, who in his naivety thinks this poor lad has seen the error of his ways and will never re-offend ..
The whole system is flawed... and here's a couple of simple solutions ... no free legal aid !! ... you get found guilty ... You pay or your possessions are seized, sold and the money pumped back into the justice system. Mr Brief only gets paid when his 'client' is found 'Not guilty'. When Mr 'I am only worthy of being toilet paper' is sentenced, he is sentenced to the statutory, already on the books' time ie burglary carries 10 years ... so he serves 10 years .. no parole. Harsh some may be thinking ... well the current system isn't bloody working so what have we got to loose ... As a law abiding tax payer, I demand change to a system that is effective and creates change for the better!! ...
.. and on a foot note, might stand for Prime Minister? .. any backers out there?

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peesh64 says...
11:57pm Tue 5 Feb 13

realist_highwycombe wrote:
peesh64 wrote:
Honey33 wrote:
One criminal off our streets, I wish there were few more similar stories so that public can have some faith on our police.
The same police who know who the drug pushers are and leave them alone ? TVP are a joke the same as the Hampshire police.. Easy points get rewards...
Of course yeah because pursuing a number of criminals, arresting them and putting them through the courts where they receive a sentence of over four years is "easy". What a silly post.

May I point you in the direction of the Bucks Herald. Please take a look at the press releases there. Two more dealers have just been chagred and remanded and around 25 are serving years behind bars following a massive anti-drugs operation.

Kind of makes your post about them leaving drug pushers alone completely redundant. Although of course I am sure in your mind they should be arresting every single person left right and centre with little evidence or people supporting them in gathering the evidence.

Cant do right from wrong.

And before you respond as I say please go on that website and see just how many years the drug pushers as you call them are serving.
*Bows* with the greatest respect. See BFP today. Report after report of burglary .. Why do they carry out the crimes ? Yes to feed a need, so cut off the feed and keep cutting the feed off till they have no place to go. Even when I was a kid we knew who the drug dealers were, so did the police. Things have not changed. We see them driving around with the tinted windows, we know who they are. The police know who they are but an easy £80 notice is easier to serve than dealing with the main issue. Happy to talk further over this issue. regards

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