A Hyde man who invaded homes to steal car keys jailed for over six years
Damon Keegan aged 31 of Woodland View targeted high-value cars across Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Derbyshire.
During a period of twelve months,
He committed several offences, racking up a total of almost £350,000 worth of high value cars stolen.
He was found with a radio frequency jamming device which is a sophisticated tool often used by criminals, capable of blocking mobile telephone and Wi-Fi signals.
During the investigation, police discovered a garage near to Keegan’s home address which appeared to be used solely for the preparation of burglary offences. Items recovered included a rucksack containing lock picking sets, blank car keys, a spy camera, a sledgehammer, a blow torch, replacement footwear, clothing, an axe, and several Apple Air Tags.
Keegan used a variety of methods to steal the cars, but each were intrusive and left victims feeling uneasy in their own homes.
On one occasion in Knutsford in May 2023, Keegan was disturbed by an alarm in the early hours of the morning. In a rush to leave, he left behind a radio frequency jammer, identical to the one seized from Keegan on arrest. A forensic examination of the device also identified DNA from Keegan.
In Lymm in October 2023, a black BMW X5 was stolen from a drive. Keegan disconnected the Wi-Fi so the owner wouldn’t get notified by their doorbell camera, and he broke into the house to steal the keys.
On several occasions, Keegan committed the burglaries whilst he was subject to Electronic Monitoring System (EMS) with a curfew between 7pm – 7am. Regardless, he stole an Audi A3 from an address in Timperley, and an Audi S3 from Congleton and Stockport, further incriminating himself. Scrutiny of the EMS data identified that Keegan was not at home during the hours of his curfew when the burglaries had been committed.
On Thursday 2 November 2023, an Audi S3 was stolen from an address in Glossop. The car was traced to a garage in Blackley, before it travelled to Leeds for extensive modifications. On its return, the stolen Audi S3 had been modified to resemble an Audi A3 and was unrecognisable as all the component parts except the shell, engine and wheels had been changed using parts from a Audi A3 stolen by means of burglary by Keegan, from an address in Timperley. False plates had also been added to disguise the vehicles true identity. When the car was recovered by police, telescopic ladders, believed to have been used in several burglaries, were located along with several additional tools, and stick on vehicle registration plates.
Detective Constable Holden from our Serious Organised Crime Group said: “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. 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 ensure 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.”
