A farmer has been praised for his bravery after chasing down a serial thief who tried to steal his quad bike in the middle of the night.
Richard Suter was caught by farmer Julian Rees and his son after their dogs alerted them to intruders on the remote farm near Crickhowell on July 11.
The 42-year-old, who the judge described as having a "quite dreadful" criminal record, was jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to attempted theft of a quad bike.
Cardiff Crown Court was told that Mr Rees' wife Louise was in the kitchen when she saw men who had travelled from Ebbw Vale in a silver Volkswagen Passat pointing at the diesel tank and quad bikes on the morning before the attempted theft.
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She went out to speak to the men, including Suter, who said they were on their way to do some plastering work. The court heard that Mrs Rees was concerned that they did not look like tradesmen and asked them which farm they were looking for.
"They've just sent us to do some plastering," one replied before moving quickly away from the farm.
Shortly after 3am on July 11, Suter and another man were caught on live doorbell footage approaching and tampering with two quad bikes outside the farmhouse.
Prosecuting barrister Emily Bennett said: "Julian Rees went to the back door of the house however the males had left. He drove down the lane with his son and saw a gate to the yard was open. He saw two males running away from the property. One of those was the defendant in a zipped hoodie and black bottoms.
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"Mr Rees apprehended the defendant but the second male ran away. While waiting for the police to arrive, the defendant continued to struggle and threatened to run away."
The court heard that Suter told police that he was in the area walking from Gilwern and couldn't run because he was wearing sliders. Suter was arrested and taken to Brecon Police Station where he refused to leave the cell for questioning, stating that he wanted to return to prison.
Louise Rees shared with the court the impact the attempted theft had on her family's life. She said in a statement read out by the prosecutor that the incident has had a “massive effect”.
The court was told that Suter had 74 convictions for 227 offences since February 2000, including 77 for thefts. His most recent conviction, in August 2023, for burglary and theft of a non-dwelling earned him an 11-month prison sentence.
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During mitigation, barrister Alex Granville told the judge that Suter had been drug-free for almost two years but was struggling with the loss of his partner.
"He is remorseful and sorry for it," Ms Granville said. "It is a significant move by this defendant that he accepts his downfalls and issues and openly apologies for what he's done.
She added: "The defendant's greatest piece of mitigation is that he is very aware of the help he needs. He has suffered significant trauma in the past and he is sorry."
His Honour Judge Eugene Egan told Suter on Wednesday, October 22, that he was a criminal who "plainly disregards other people’s property as fair game".
"The farmer bravely apprehended you at the scene and he must be commended for his actions and bravery,” the judge said.
"I regard this as a very serious targeting of a vulnerable farm premises. It would have caused significant harm if you had taken the quad bike from the business.
"It was deliberate targeting of a business on the basis of its vulnerability, a remote farmhouse. You staked it out and went back during the early hours of the morning.
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"Farmers are inherently vulnerable when people like you target hardworking farmers who work long hours often for tight margins. They can't protect their property day-in day-out.
"This was an attempted theft but only because you were caught red-handed by the bravery of the farmer because of his actions intervening to stop this offence. You and your accomplice would have scuttled into the night with a quad bike.
"You have quite a dreadful criminal record and you were on post-sentence supervision at the time.
"There was no loss actually caused but what you intended was quite a significant loss to this farmer."
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