Man stole £2600 worth of luggage from TPE services

pemma · 5 Feb 2012

A man from Waterloo, Huddersfield has been jailed after stealing thousands of pounds worth of luggage from a train.

Jamie Letremy, of Mitchell Avenue, was sent to prison for 30 weeks after Kirklees magistrates heard how he swiped suitcases from passengers after boarding a train at Huddersfield in January last year.

He was also sentenced for a string of other offences, including further thefts, fraud, and possession of Class A drugs.

The magistrates, sitting in Huddersfield, were told that the 28-year-old conspired with his brother Tyrone Letremy, in the thefts.

Tyrone Letremy was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for the thefts last month.

Magistrates were told that between January 18 and February 2 last year, British Transport Police reported several luggage thefts from trains between Dewsbury and Huddersfield.

Carole Lawford, prosecuting, said that together with his brother, Letremy was responsible for stealing luggage belonging to two passengers on January 21.

The high value was due to the fact that one of the complainants had been due to go on a cruise to America the following day. The other victim, she said, had just come back from working in America taking photographs and all his equipment was in the suitcase.

Read More http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/loca...00-from-train-86081-30256752/2/#ixzz1lVz7AvCv

RailUK Forums

CC 72100 · 5 Feb 2012

I have to admit I always am wary about leaving luggage in the racks and the end of the carraige, and don't like sitting too far away from it. Although I have valubles like my wallet and phone on me, I always have a quick glimpse every now and again, particularly after a station, to check that it's always there. This sort of luggage storage is, in my view, a potential breeding ground for people walking off with your luggage whilst you sit there without knowing, as is demonstrated by the story above

Harlesden · 5 Feb 2012

Surely the sentences should have been 30 months and 12 months respectively, although the one with the Class A drugs should have received an even heavier sentence.
I knew a first time offender - mature man with no criminal record of any kind - who got 11 YEARS for being found to have 2 pounds of cocaine in his luggage

Greenback · 5 Feb 2012

I am quite happy to leave my luggage at the end of the carriage in the proper place ie a luggage rack. Mind you, most of the time it consists entirely of dirty washing, and very little of any intrinsic value in itself.

I know that this sort of theft does happen, but in my opinion, given the number of journeys made, the chances of it hapepning are pretty slim. This is particularly true if you sit where you can see the rack and take the precaution of keeping an eye on things rather than going to sleep or becoming immersed in a laptop, book or whatever.

pemma · 5 Feb 2012

AdamW said:
I have to admit I always am wary about leaving luggage in the racks and the end of the carraige, and don't like sitting too far away from it. Although I have valubles like my wallet and phone on me, I always have a quick glimpse every now and again, particularly after a station, to check that it's always there. This sort of luggage storage is, in my view, a potential breeding ground for people walking off with your luggage whilst you sit there without knowing, as is demonstrated by the story above

It's made all the worse by using 170s and 185s on TPE routes instead of 158s. On a TPE 158 you could sit somewhere where you could keep an eye on your luggage and if someone tried to steal it you had a chance of stopping them before they got the luggage out of the external doors. On a 185 the luggage rack is right next to wide external doors so a thief can grab the luggage and be off the train within seconds and the wide doors make it's easier for an accomplish to hide your view of what's going on until it's too late.

Greenback · 5 Feb 2012

jcollins said:
It's made all the worse by using 170s and 185s on TPE routes instead of 158s. On a TPE 158 you can sit somewhere where you could keep an eye on your luggage and if someone tried to steal it you had a chance of stopping them before they got the luggage out of the external doors. On a 185 the luggage rack is right next to wide external doors so a thief can grab the luggage and be off the train within seconds and the wide doors make it's easier for an accomplish to hide your view of what's going on until it's too late.

I didn't realise that. It sounds like a poor design. The only time I've been on a 185 I only had a small bag which I kept on my lap!

WestCoast · 5 Feb 2012

Greenback said:
I didn't realise that. It sounds like a poor design. The only time I've been on a 185 I only had a small bag which I kept on my lap!

It because 185s have been designed in an attempt to satisfy the needs of short-distance commuters on busy services, medium-distance routes with many stops and travellers on longer-distance routes with fewer stops and where people carry luggage. It's difficult to come up with a good arrangement.

transmanche · 5 Feb 2012

jcollins said:
It's made all the worse by using 170s and 185s on TPE routes instead of 158s. On a TPE 158 you can sit somewhere where you could keep an eye on your luggage and if someone tried to steal it you had a chance of stopping them before they got the luggage out of the external doors. On a 185 the luggage rack is right next to wide external doors so a thief can grab the luggage and be off the train within seconds and the wide doors make it's easier for an accomplish to hide your view of what's going on until it's too late.

Presumably they deliberately chose Desiro design with 'wide external doors' to suit the passenger flows on the route. Otherwise they'd have opted for 444-style end of carriage doors?

pemma · 5 Feb 2012

transmanche said:
Presumably they deliberately chose Desiro design with 'wide external doors' to suit the passenger flows on the route. Otherwise they'd have opted for 444-style end of carriage doors?

Considering the routes used if they wanted wide external doors they should have put internal doors between the seating areas and the external doors. The Arriva bid for TPE proposed using 4 car Voyager style trains but as First/Kelios proposed cheaper 3 car DMUs, which could later be lengthened to 4 car DMUs if required, it doesn't take a genius to work out why Arriva didn't get the franchise.

transmanche · 5 Feb 2012

transmanche said:
Presumably they deliberately chose Desiro design with 'wide external doors' to suit the passenger flows on the route. Otherwise they'd have opted for 444-style end of carriage doors?

jcollins said:
Considering the routes used if they wanted wide external doors they should have put internal doors between the seating areas and the external doors.

Which would have negated the speedier boarding advantage of having the 1/3-2/3 door layout...

pemma · 5 Feb 2012

transmanche said:
Which would have negated the speedier boarding advantage of having the 1/3-2/3 door layout...

I don't see how it would have made much of a difference, unless you're assuming the passengers alighting don't get up until the train has stopped at the station.

WestCoast · 5 Feb 2012

Wide external doors are definitely needed on peak time 185s into Manchester!

transmanche · 5 Feb 2012

transmanche said:
Which would have negated the speedier boarding advantage of having the 1/3-2/3 door layout...

jcollins said:
I don't see how it would have made much of a difference, unless you're assuming the passengers alighting don't get up until the train has stopped at the station.

Because internal doors disrupt the smooth flow of passengers, especially with large numbers boarding/alighting at each station when making short-distance journeys.

Which is why the 444 has them, but the 450 does not.

MCR247 · 5 Feb 2012

And 1/3 and 2/3 doors are a lot better for getting standing passengers on the train and do it quicker than end doors

LE Greys · 5 Feb 2012

Greenback said:
I am quite happy to leave my luggage at the end of the carriage in the proper place ie a luggage rack. Mind you, most of the time it consists entirely of dirty washing, and very little of any intrinsic value in itself.

I know that this sort of theft does happen, but in my opinion, given the number of journeys made, the chances of it hapepning are pretty slim. This is particularly true if you sit where you can see the rack and take the precaution of keeping an eye on things rather than going to sleep or becoming immersed in a laptop, book or whatever.

I'm in a similar situation, generally (the life of a student). My camera's always a big concern, and that generally goes on my lap, under my feet or on the overhead rack in such a way that they would have to lean over me to get to it. The other concern is, how do you stop them? What if they claim that the luggage is really theirs and you are trying to steal it yourself? Perhaps you should demand that they describe what is in it, which they obviously can't know.

Flamingo · 5 Feb 2012

I'll always advise people to put larger bags on the luggage racks, small bags on the overhead or under seat spaces where they can see them (which also stops the luggage racks from filling up with small stuff), and check their bags on the luggage racks at every stop. That's what I do when I'm traveling with cases.

If anyone comes up to me to say their case was stolen, unless they can say where, all I can do is give them BTP's number.

trainophile · 5 Feb 2012

Would it be possible/allowed to use something like a bicycle lock to secure your suitcase to the bars of the luggage rack? If you're on board early in the route, so your case is at the back of the rack, I can't see that it could cause anyone any problems.

Paranoid of Hereford :oops:

chris89 · 5 Feb 2012

Not really that supprised about the jail time really.

When i travel to Scotland i have a bag that is big enough to use, but small enough to use on the overhead racks so always goes up their.

If i take my camera with me, i use my Shoulder bag, and keep it in that, with its own bag, and goes beneath my seat. Also only get up when no near station stops, or just take the bag with me, as i would never be able to afford to replace it at the moment if it was stolen.

Chris

lookingforit35 · 5 Feb 2012

Harlesden said:
Surely the sentences should have been 30 months and 12 months respectively, although the one with the Class A drugs should have received an even heavier sentence.
I knew a first time offender - mature man with no criminal record of any kind - who got 11 YEARS for being found to have 2 pounds of cocaine in his luggage

I'm no expert, but even I can see that two pounds of cocaine does rather suggest an entry into "dealing" territory, whereas possession of a small quantity for personal use would be viewed altogether differently!

yorkie · 5 Feb 2012

Harlesden said:
Surely the sentences should have been 30 months and 12 months respectively, although the one with the Class A drugs should have received an even heavier sentence.
I knew a first time offender - mature man with no criminal record of any kind - who got 11 YEARS for being found to have 2 pounds of cocaine in his luggage

This country has an utterly bonkers legal system with ludicrous punishments where people who commit violent crimes or who steal from people are effectively let off, while others who are not so bad get dealt with more harshly. Perhaps one day we'll get a fair system but I highly doubt it.

Basically, the worse a criminal is, the more lenient the punishment, it seems!

And why are there no photos of these scoundrels? We should at least be able to keep an eye out for them.

Minilad · 5 Feb 2012

yorkie said:
This country has an utterly bonkers legal system with ludicrous punishments where people who commit violent crimes or who steal from people are effectively let off, while others who are not so bad get dealt with more harshly. Perhaps one day we'll get a fair system but I highly doubt it.

Basically, the worse a criminal is, the more lenient the punishment, it seems!

And why are there no photos of these scoundrels? We should at least be able to keep an eye out for them.

Probably against their human rights innit guv

transmanche · 5 Feb 2012

XCDriver said:
Probably against their human rights innit guv

Not true...

yorkie · 5 Feb 2012

transmanche said:
Not true...

Which one of those people are the 2 scoundrels mentioned in this thread? I can't make out much of the text, though I am not convinced this relates to the same incident, as I can't find a Henbury in Huddersfield, but there is a Henbury in Bristol...

davelew99 · 5 Feb 2012

This reminds me of one of my pet hates with Voyagers/Pendolinos - the overhead racks are too small to be useful.

On a Mk3 or indeed anything else i can easily fit my usual suitcase overhead - on the pendos i can't even get my backpack in there (which contains my laptop usually so i do not want it out of sight)

transmanche · 5 Feb 2012

yorkie said:
Which one of those people are the 2 scoundrels mentioned in this thread?

Who said it did? I was responding to the assertion that I quoted in my post; i.e. that putting up pictures was...

XCDriver said:
Probably against their human rights innit guv

... with an example of Police doing exactly that - thus demonstrating that it wasn't "against their human rights".

Minilad · 5 Feb 2012

transmanche said:
Who said it did? I was responding to the assertion that I quoted in my post; i.e. that putting up pictures was...
... with an example of Police doing exactly that - thus demonstrating that it wasn't "against their human rights".

And I was posting tongue in cheek. But hey ho

transmanche · 5 Feb 2012

XCDriver said:
And I was posting tongue in cheek. But hey ho

Fair doos

VTPreston_Tez · 5 Feb 2012

This is why I think the TOCs should have lower racks for more space and lower seats. They can scrap the end seats for sidewards seats like on LU, allowing for more standing room and the like.

ANorthernGuard · 5 Feb 2012

hmmm...looks like an open and shut "case" to me

I know, I know..I'll get me coat

Tomonthetrain · 5 Feb 2012

I rest my case.

(Any spare room in that taxi ANorthernGuard?)

Man stole £2600 worth of luggage from TPE services

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