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Amazon delivery van robber from Canterbury jailed for three years
12:52, 17 June 2022
updated: 16:10, 17 June 2022
Police bodycam footage captures the moment a robber who stole an Amazon van asks "what for?" as he is arrested - surrounded by half-opened packages.
Ronnie Mead had aggressively taken the vehicle from a driver who had been making a delivery in Canterbury.
Watch the moment police arrest robber Ronnie Mead
But just 20 minutes later the 33-year-old was in handcuffs - after police used the van's tracking device to locate him.
Mead, of Hunton Gardens, Canterbury, has now been jailed for three years.
He originally claimed to have stumbled upon the parcels following his arrest on Thursday, April 14.
But he could not explain why he was also in possession of a wallet belonging to the driver of the van, who identified Mead as being responsible for the offence.
The victim had been making a delivery in Chaucer Road at about 12.55pm when Mead approached him in an aggressive manner, grabbing him by his top whilst shouting and swearing.
He then took the keys to the vehicle, climbed in and drove off despite the man’s best attempts to stop him.
Police were called and officers were provided with details of where the vehicle was travelling, with it eventually coming to a stop in Godden Road where Mead was found and arrested.
The footage shows police apprehending Mead in an alley, with Amazon packages strewn across the floor. An officer asks him to put his hands behind his back, to which he replies: "What for?"
Mead later pleaded guilty to robbery, taking a motor vehicle without consent and possession of cannabis.
He was handed a three-year prison sentence at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday.
Chief Inspector Mark Hedges, District Commander for Canterbury, said: "Ronnie Mead is an opportunistic criminal who thinks nothing of taking things that do not belong to him.
"Fortunately for us he did not consider that the van he took would have a tracking device on it and lead us right to him.
"Whilst he initially protested his innocence, even he could see how it looked when we found him just yards from the van and surrounded by packages.
"He was therefore left with little choice but to admit his crimes and will now serve a considerable length of time behind bars as a result."
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