Three jailed over masked aggravated burglary of elderly couple in Rochester, Kent

Mixed · 2Three men have been jailed at Maidstone Crown Court for an aggravated burglary on an elderly couple at their home in Rochester, Kent, on the evening of 12 January. 1 2 Mixed · 2CCTV footage shows the woman, in her 70s, going outside with rubbish when a masked man jumped out, forced her to the ground and, with others, dragged her back inside the bungalow. 1 2 Mixed · 2Inside, one attacker tried to remove rings from her fingers, while another sprayed her husband's eyes with CS spray (described by Metro as tear gas), beat him and forced him to hand over his watch; Metro says he was left with a black eye. 1 2

Mixed · 2The raid lasted about four minutes. The gang took watches, jewellery and the couple's mobile phones, and left them locked inside their home, unable to call for help. 1 2 Mixed · 2They escaped in a stolen car with false number plates, which Kent Police found the next day. 1 2 Mixed · 2Police said the ringleader, Jessie (spelled Jesse by Metro) Eastwood, spent nearly a year planning the burglary and recruiting others. In regular conversations with a serving prisoner, he discussed descriptions of the victims, the layout of the house, the watches he wanted and how he would carry it out, and afterwards called the crime a 'horror story'. 1 2

Mixed · 2Thomas O'Sullivan knew the couple and had been on holiday with them, and passed Eastwood details about the property; Metro adds that O'Sullivan was living with the victims at the time. The third man, Christopher David, was identified through forensic testing of a jewellery box. 1 2 Mixed · 2All three were arrested and charged with aggravated burglary at the beginning of February. Eastwood, 34, of Orpington, was sentenced to seven years and eight months; David, 41, of Bromley, to six years and nine months; and O'Sullivan, 27, of Maidstone, to two years and five months. 1 2 Mixed · 2Detective Constable Aaron Chapman of Kent Police said the victims had remained 'courageous and steadfast' throughout the investigation and that officers hoped the result would bring them peace and reassurance. 1 2