Two men plead guilty to St Albans beauty store burglary

Two men have pleaded guilty to breaking into The Alternative Beauty store in The Maltings, St Albans, and stealing almost £8,000 worth of perfume and beauty products.​

Gary Wheeler, aged 51, of Elm Park Close, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, and Paul Magnan, aged 38, from the Luton area, appeared at Hatfield Remand Court on Monday (1 June), where they admitted the offence.

The court heard that at around 4.30am on Saturday 30 May, the pair forced entry into the store by smashing the doors. CCTV operators from St Albans City and District Council tracked two men leaving the scene carrying bags, before they were spotted shortly afterwards in different clothing, pulling a wheelie bin across London Road.

Just 15 minutes after the burglary was reported, Response Sergeant Lee Hammond from Team 4 located the suspects and, with colleague PC Dean Bridges, arrested both men on suspicion of burglary.

Sergeant Hammond said: “Within the bin was £7,898.90 worth of stolen perfume and beauty products, along with discarded clothing believed to have been used by the two men in an attempt to evade identification.”

Wheeler was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment at the hearing. The court took into account his previous offending.

Magnan has also been charged with four additional non-dwelling burglaries in Houghton Regis, Dunstable, on 18 May, 16 May, 4 May and 3 May. He has been remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced.

He added: “Thanks to the neighbourhood policing team and the Council’s CCTV operators, we were able to quickly identify and arrest these men and bring them before the court.”