“Prolific” teen burglar jailed over 45 charges

Dylan Steele (19) was initially charged with 14 offences in June this year including seven counts of burglary, one of attempted burglary and six counts of theft of a motor vehicle across South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire.

Steele’s initial offences took place across Bramley, Wickersley and Treeton in Rotherham, as well as Dronfield in North Derbyshire between May and June this year, with the vehicle thefts mainly of “high premium” cars.

He pleaded guilty to all of the offences, and requested 31 other dwelling burglary offences be taken into consideration.

These took place between September 2022 and June 2023 across Rotherham, Sheffield and North Derbyshire and consisted of:

• Ten further offences in Rotherham - mainly in Aston, Swallownest and Wickersley
• Four further offences in Sheffield
• 17 further offences in the North Derbyshire area mainly throughout Chesterfield and Dronfield.

Steele - formerly of Water Slacks Close, Sheffield - was sentenced to five years and three months at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday (September 22.)

Investigation officer Shannon Lake, from Rotherham’s Neighbourhood Crime Team which led the investigation, said: “Steele’s offending was prolific and during his time with officers he explained how his preferred method of entry to homes was by snapping door locks.

“He would search for car keys and, when found, steal the victim’s vehicle.

“These were, in the main, high value premium vehicles.”

They urged homeowners to review their home security and consider upgrading their locks to more secure three-star anti-snap locks, adding:

“You can also install CCTV systems and driveway security bollards or an overt security device on your vehicles such as wheel clamps or steering locks.

“We hope that seeing Steele imprisoned will provide some closure to the victims whose properties he targeted and they can now start to move on with their lives.

“We will continue to target those who commit these despicable offences across our force area and the wider region, and want everyone who lives and works in South Yorkshire to feel their homes and vehicles are safe.”