Despite wearing an ankle tag which tracked his movements 24 hours a day, between October and January brazen crook Thomas Siggers stole at least eight cars using sophisticated keyless entry tech.
One woman who watched her £40,000 Land Rover being taken from her driveway in Bexley described feeling “emotionally violated” by the theft.
When the car was found six days later it was trashed and her 93-year-old mum’s wheelchair was gone.
Another car Siggers stole was later used in a shooting in Woolwich.
Siggers was one of four men accused of partaking in the attempted execution of a man outside his own home, but a jury found him not guilty of attempted murder after he said he was not aware of the gun and thought it was a plan to steal rather than kill.
Siggers was also involved in an incident which saw an off-duty police officer threatened with a machete.
When the law eventually caught up with him he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal motor vehicles, vehicle interference, affray and theft from a motor vehicle.
The 30-year-old from Sidcup was jailed for four years and ten months at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday (September 6).
Machete threats
Siggers stole Land Rovers, Range Rovers and Lexus’ from Eltham, Bexleyheath, Welling, Chislehurst and Orpington.
Most of the vehicles were worth upwards of £20,000.
Judge Christopher Grout described it as a planned and sophisticated operation which Siggers played a leading role in, taking the cars and equipping them with false plates.
“It is to be noted that most of the thefts occurred when the owners were in possession of the keys and the vehicles were not damaged, indicating that you and your conspirators had the means to bypass into the vehicles,” he said.
“I feel emotionally violated by the thought of someone surveying my house like that. My mum is 93 and is sometimes in the house on her own, so I feel particularly worried for her safety in case the people who did this return,” the woman said.
The GPS tag police installed on his ankle following his recent prison release placed him at the location of all eight thefts, as well as other instances in which cars were broken into or damaged.
It also proved that Siggers was present when an off-duty police officer was threatened with machetes on January 7.
The officer was sitting in his Audi in a car park on Timbercroft Lane, Woolwich, at around 11.45pm when a black Land Rover boxed him in.
Inside the Land Rover were four men wearing balaclavas, two of them carrying machetes (Siggers was not one of the men carrying a weapon).
“I was completely shocked and horrified. I assessed the area and tried to formulate a plan to escape,” the officer said, describing his thoughts when the men brandished their weapons and opened the door to get out.
On realising he was blocked in and had nowhere to go, the officer decided to flash his warrant card, causing the masked men to spook and drive off.
Stealing from his own grandparents
Siggers has an extensive criminal background, including 53 convictions mostly for thefts or burglaries.
The Evening Standard reports that in 2017 he was jailed for burgling his own grandparents’ home while they were on holiday celebrating their wedding anniversary.
Judge Grout said: “No matter how the court deals with you, you continue to offend.”
But Charles Langley, representing Siggers, said his client is a changed man.
“Mr Siggers apologises to the court for being in here again. He seems to want to turn his life around, in particular because of the recent birth of his son,” Mr Langley said.
“When he is released from prison he said he’s going to move out of the area to avoid negative influences on him.”
Mr Langley said Siggers has been a positive influence in prison, including saving the life of a man who tried to kill himself.
Despite his repeat offending, Mr Langley said Siggers is supported by his family including his partner who has stuck by him throughout.
But Judge Grout wasn’t convinced by Siggers’ supposed contrition.
“It is very difficult to accept that you are truly remorseful for what you have done,” he told Siggers as he sentenced him to 58 months in prison.
