Serial car thief from Hyde busted by police’s garage discovery

A SERIAL car thief from Hyde was exposed when police uncovered ‘burglary kits’ inside a garage and the boot of a stolen Audi.

In August last year, Greater Manchester Police launched an investigation following a spate of high-value car burglaries across the area, as well as in Derbyshire and Cheshire.

Officers pieced together evidence over several months, which ultimately led them to Damon Keegan.

The 31-year-old, of Woodland View, appeared at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester on Friday, September 27.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle, seven counts of burglary, one count of attempted burglary, eight counts of theft of a motor vehicle, one count of going equipped to steal, and three counts of handling stolen goods and dangerous driving.

Keegan has been jailed for six years and 11 months.

Over 12 months, Keegan stole almost £350,000 worth of high-end cars including BMWs and Audis, according to GMP.

When arrested in November last year, police said he was found with a radio frequency jamming device – a ‘sophisticated’ tool often used by criminals which is capable of blocking mobile telephone and WiFi signals.

They also discovered a garage near to Keegan’s house where items including a rucksack containing lock picking sets, blank car keys, a spy camera, a sledgehammer, a blowtorch, replacement footwear, clothing, an axe and several Apple Air Tags were discovered.

On several occasions, he committed the burglaries when subject to the Electronic Monitoring System with a curfew between 7pm and 7am.

On November 2, 2023, an Audi S3 was stolen from Glossop and was traced to a garage in Blackley, before it travelled to Leeds for extensive modifications.

On its return, police said it had been modified to resemble an Audi A3, using parts from an Audi A3 stolen by Keegan from an address in Timperley and false plates were also added.

When the car was recovered by officers, telescopic ladders – believed to have been used in several burglaries – were found along with additional tools and stick-on vehicle registration plates.

One of the detectives on the case said Keegan had a string of similar past convictions and he used ‘intrusive and ruinous’ methods.

“Keegan was a prolific burglar with a string of similar past convictions, who, over the space of twelve months stole over £300,000 worth of luxury cars,” said Detective Constable Holden, from GMP’s Serious Organised Crime Group.

“His methods were intrusive and ruinous, often breaking into people’s houses whilst they slept, leaving them unable to get to work or take their children to school when they woke up to see their cars gone and homes tampered with.

“This was an extensive investigation which crossed borders and involved collaboration with neighbouring forces to link Keegan’s crimes and ensured he faced consequences for all his offending.

“His crimes had significant financial and emotional impacts on our victims, and I hope this demonstrates that regardless of the steps you may take to conceal your offending, we will exhaust every line of enquiry to ensure you are put behind bars.

“Ultimately, the cases brought by the team in this investigation were so overwhelming, Keegan had no option but to plead guilty.”