Man jailed for aggravated burlary

3 June 2010, 13:57 | Updated: 13 September 2017, 18:34

A 23 year old man from Swindon's been jailed today for a total of 10 years after he broke into a house with a gun.

Beri Banye, from County Road pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, possession of a firearm/imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of cannabis resin.

It's after an incident in the early evening of Saturday 23rd January 2010 when Swindon Police received a report of a burglary at East Wichelstowe, whereby a black man and a white man had broken into a house.  The two offenders were carrying a gun and knife respectively and the house occupants had been assaulted and robbed of their cash savings.  The two offenders then ran away.

The female occupant received a broken left hand and a small cut to the crown of her head. The male occupant received a cut above his right ear, a 2 inch scratch across the top of his head, swollen left temple, bruised and swollen left hand, a ½ inch cut to the top of his left hand, a 1 ½ inch cut to the top of his left wrist, and grazes to the sides of his left wrist.  He also has the imprint of what appears to be the barrel of a gun on the right hand side of his temple.

The next day, following police enquiries, a search warrant was obtained and Beri Banye Fanso was found hiding in the loft area of the house, and arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary.  He was taken to Swindon Police Station, where he was interviewed by detective officers, and subsequently charged.

He appeared before Swindon Crown Court on Thursday 3rd June 2010, where he pleaded guilty to these offences and was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment for the aggravated burglary, and  3 years imprisonment for possession of the imitation firearm, both sentences to run concurrently.  The cannabis charge was allowed to remain on the file.

At the conclusion of the Court hearing, the Officer in the Case, Detective Sergeant Tom Straker said:
"This was a particularly serious offence, and the occupants of the house were fortunate not to have been more seriously injured.  Our prompt action enabled us to arrest the offender within 24 hours, and his long sentence of imprisonment clearly shows the severity with which the Court considered this man's actions.  Wiltshire Police will continue its fight against serious offenders and when these offenders appear before the Court, they now know what sentences to expect."