Man jailed after Brighton and Hove crime spree

Reece Faria, 28, from Brighton appeared at Hove Crown Court last Thursday (November 16) after pleading guilty on October 6 to five burglaries, two thefts, two counts of fraud and one count of handling stolen goods.

Police said that Faria's series of criminal activity began on September 12, 2022 when he unlawfully entered a property in Brunswick Square, stealing electronics, jewellery and money.

On October 7, 2022 he went on to steal a charity collection box from a coffee shop on St James’s Street.

On October 21, 2022, police received reports of two burglaries at businesses on Bond Street. A bank card stolen during one of the break-ins was then used by Faria at two other premises in the city.

Nine days later on October 30, 2022, Faria committed another burglary when he unlawfully entered an address on Islington Road. A Nintendo switch and Playstation 5 were stolen from this address.

On November 2, 2022, Faria was seen on CCTV stealing a bike from outside a shop on Queens Road.

Faria was then found to have broken into the communal hallway of a house in Montpelier Road on November 6, and attempted to steal money from the premises. His efforts were unsuccessful.

Police enquiries linked Faria to each of the offences and he was arrested in November 2022. He was released on conditional bail while enquiries, including awaiting the results of forensic tests, were ongoing.

Investigations continued and when fingerprints found at the scene of two burglaries were confirmed as belonging to Faria, he was charged with three burglaries, two thefts, two counts of fraud and one count of handling stolen goods. He was then released on court bail, pending his next court date.

While on court bail, Faria committed two further burglaries. He was seen on CCTV repeatedly stealing alcohol from a bar on Jubilee Street over a three-day period in May 2023, and was found to have broken in to a restaurant in New Road in July 2023.

Police arrested Faria and charged him with the two additional burglaries. He was due in court on September 8 but failed to appear. As a result, he was treated as a wanted person and officers arrested him again on September 14. He was remanded in custody to await trial.

At sentencing, Faria, of Grand Parade, Brighton, received two years and three months for his offences across Brighton and Hove, and a further three months for failing to appear at court.

Detective Constable James Botting said: "After comprehensive investigations into multiple offences, we found Faria at the centre of all our enquiries.

"The repeated violations of privacy, thefts from businesses and fraudulent activities have finally caught up with Faria, and we are pleased to take him off the streets, preventing further offending.

"We thank the victims and witnesses involved for assisting us in our enquiries, helping us get to this point where we are able to hold Faria accountable for the choices he made to target households and businesses across the city."