Adrian Leek, aged 43, from Birmingham, crashed the car into an Audi at a roundabout shortly after driving off from the showroom
Adrian Leek stole a £23,000 BMW from Hilton Garage in Derbyshire
A serial thief who has committed 150 crimes stole a £23,000 BWM from a showroom after booking a test-drive.
Adrian Leek, from Birmingham, turned up at Hilton Garage in Derbyshire with an unidentified woman.
The 43-year-old was asked to make a 1p deposit from his bank but claimed he could not.
Instead, he simply drove off in the BMW I3, colliding with a Range Rover in the forecourt and then ploughing into an Audi by going the wrong way at a nearby roundabout.
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Leek, of Icknield Port Road, Ladywood, admitted theft and dangerous driving.
He was sentenced to two years and four months and banned from driving for the same period of time at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday, June 17.
Leek used a different name to book a test-drive at Hilton’s Garage in The Mease on February 23, 2022.
Hilton Garage in The Mease, Derbyshire
Prosecutor Pierre de Garis said: “The defendant and a female unknown arrived at the showroom together.
“The keys were handed to the defendant. They looked around the car for about 30 minutes before returning inside the showroom.
“As per protocol the defendant was required to make a 1p bank transaction prior to a test-drive.
“He said he didn’t have bank cards and was unable to make a payment but he said he would get his friend to make a payment of £100 for him. This never happened.”
He told the court the member of staff cancelled the sale and moved on to another customer while Leek ‘made a show’ of having to make the payment.
Mr Garis stated the employee returned to find the defendant and the female had gone. Then he noticed the BWM being driven across the forecourt.
He said: “He reversed, clipping a Range Rover, but caused no damage.
“He proceeded to drive towards the exit barrier. Another member of staff unaware that a theft was in progress opened the barrier.
“The defendant drove off. It is at this point the dangerous driving commenced.
“The defendant drove the wrong way around the roundabout at the A50 and A516 and collided head on with an Audi Q3.
“It caused extensive damage to both vehicles. The damage to the Audi was estimated at £15,000 and it was written off.
“There were minor injuries to the occupants of the Audi. The defendant abandoned the car and made off on foot.”
Adrian Leek
Mr de Garis stated Leek had a ‘prolific’ record of 71 previous convictions for 150 offences including 81 thefts and similar crimes since 1998.
Sarah Turner, defending, said: “The reason for offending was a drug debt.
“He was instructed by those he owed the debt to, to attend and to test-drive the vehicle.
“He was in a difficult place at the time on drugs.”
She added he had ‘done well’ during his two months in prison on remand by becoming clean from drugs and securing a ‘trusted’ job in the servery.