10 January 2024 , 18:58
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A brazen thief has been jailed for stealing a £10,000 Rolex watch from an elderly man who had agreed to sell it to him online.
Jack Frankland, 21, was caught on CCTV making a dash with the luxury timepiece from a Costa Coffee where he’d arranged to meet his victim to handover the cash.
Frankland, who was also convicted of rape, had stolen the watch while on police bail waiting for his rape trial to come to court last March. Footage shows Frankland holding the Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea watch - valued at £10,750 - while talking to his elderly victim.
But instead of handing over the £10,000 sum they’d agreed on for the sale, he jumped from his seat and ran from the coffee shop in Northwich, Cheshire.
The 21-year-old met the OAP in a coffee shop (Cheshire Police / SWNS)
He made a dash for it with the Rolex (Cheshire Police / SWNS)His helpless victim, in his early 70s, can be seen trying to chase after him, but Frankland was already gone. Frankland had contacted the victim on Facebook Marketplace claiming he wanted to buy it as a present for his dad. The elderly man specifically requested to meet somewhere with CCTV cameras, Bradford crown court heard. The victim placed the item on the table so Frankland could examine it but a minute later, he grabbed it and fled on foot.
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A quick-thinking employee from the café later snapped a photo of Frankland after she spotted him hanging around a nearby car park. Police discovered Frankland had travelled to Northwich from Bradford, West Yorkshire, in a grey Vauxhall Corsa which had false number plates.
They also discovered he left the area after calling for a taxi using a mobile phone. Officers traced the phone back to Frankland and his house was searched, but the watch was never recovered. He later pleaded guilty to rape after his victim was able to secretly record parts of a conversation between them in which Frankland apologised for “raping her”.
He also admitted further offences of affray, possession of a knife, breach of a restraining order and the theft of the Rolex watch. He was jailed for 32 months for the rape offence and a further 16 months for the theft of the watch.
Detective Constable Claire Heatley, of Cheshire Police, said Frankland’s crimes were a timely reminder of the risks of selling items online.
She said: “Whenever you’re planning to buy or sell items, it’s essential that you do your research, it’s important that you use official sales websites, and always pay via a recommended payment site, otherwise if something goes wrong you may not be able to recover your money.
DC Heatley said the victim had been able to recover some of his losses through his insurance company.