Two men have been sentenced for their role in a “terrifying” burglary at a home in Shropshire after mistaking the address for one they believed sold drugs.
On March 20, 2024 at around 11.50pm two men entered the property in Prees by smashing the glass in a door, believing it was associated with selling drugs.
The property was occupied by two women at the time, a mother and daughter, who were forced upstairs by the men before being held hostage in one of the bedrooms.
The daughter’s quick thinking meant she called 999 as the men raced upstairs, but dropped the phone. However, the call continued which meant police were able to hear what was happening as they made their way to the scene.
One of the men stayed with the women upstairs, while the other intruder started to search downstairs demanding to know where the safe was.
The intruder who was holding the women hostage in the bedroom threatened them with violence, eventually assaulting the mother which caused her to become unconscious.
When officers arrived at the scene within six minutes of the 999 call, one of the men fled the scene through the back of the property but dropped a jacket which contained a mobile phone taken from the address.
The other man ran from the property in a different direction, throwing a pair of scissors at officers that he had taken from the address. The scissors narrowly missed an officer.
Both men were quickly identified as Gary Milner, aged 45, and of Orchid Meadow, Minsterley, and Ronan Hutchinson, aged 25, of no fixed abode.
The men took £300 from the address which was the daughter’s birthday money.
Hutchinson was identified as the man who held the two women hostage in the bedroom. He was arrested the same night in Shrewsbury Town Centre and was later charged with burglary and two counts of false imprisonment.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison at Shrewsbury Crown Court in April after pleading guilty.
Following an investigation Milner was arrested two weeks later and subsequently charged with burglary and assaulting an emergency worker.
Milner pleaded guilty to the charges in September at Shrewsbury Crown Court and on Tuesday, 11 November, was sentenced to two and half years in prison.
Detective Constable Jordan Small, from Shropshire’s Serious Acquisitive Crime Team, said: “Residential burglaries remain a top priority for West Mercia, and we continue to investigate crimes to the fullest, and no stone will be left unturned in the pursuit of justice for those impacted.
“We must thank both of the victims of this terrifying offence for their quick thinking and composure during what must have been a terrifying ordeal.
“We must also praise the quick thinking of the young victim, in what was clearly a very traumatic incident. The dropped phone allowed police to listen to the events as they unfolded, deploying officers who were on scene within minutes.”