Male From Daventry Charged For Theft of Sheep

Over the last twelve months Warwickshire Police have been working in partnership with neighbouring Forces to investigate a series of sheep butchery and theft offences across the Midlands. There were a total of 22 incidents recorded in 2019 by Warwickshire Police alone under the Operation name Hillman.
We have previously posted results from last year in relation to three males who are currently awaiting trial.
There has been a dramatic decrease in this type of offence across the Midlands since these arrests but on Sunday 16th February 2020 we received a report of a theft of two sheep from a field near to Willoughby, Rugby. Upon attending this report it quickly became apparent that the sheep were likely to have been slaughtered at the scene before being stolen.
As part of our investigation Rural Crime Officer Carol Cotterill worked with Northamptonshire Police and a potential suspect was identified.   PC Taylor prepared an application to be heard at Leamington Spa Magistrates’ court with a view to obtaining an urgent warrant to search a property in Daventry.
The application was successful and with the help of two Patrol Officers and local Daventry Police, Sergeant Bob Shaw and PC Kate Taylor from the Rural Crime Team executed a warrant. During a search of the target address a number of items relevant to the offence were seized and a 32 year old male from Daventry has now been interviewed and charged.