Teenager arrested, charged and up in court less than 48 hours after burglary

The 16-year-old suspect, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was taken into custody and appeared in court charged with two counts of burglary.

On Wednesday night, a house in Horden was broken into when intruders smashed their way in through a back door and stole electrical equipment.

The following morning, detectives from Peterlee Volume Crime Team arrested two teenage males, one aged 16 and one aged 15, after recovering a quantity of suspected stolen property.

The 16-year-old defendant has now been charged in connection with Wednesday’s burglary and also a second burglary which happened in Horden in January.

He is due back before court on March 18 after appearing before magistrates on Friday.

The 15-year-old suspect arrested at the same time has been released under investigation while enquiries continue.

Detective Sergeant Clare Riley hoped that the missing property “can be returned to its rightful owner once the court process is completed”.

She added: “House burglary is one of those high harm crimes which we target as a priority. Intelligence from the community allows us to investigate it and deliver the evidence needed to get the case to court.”

Inspector Gary Smith, of Peterlee Neighbourhood Policing Team, added: “We would like to thank the community for reporting these incidents to us and providing us with the information we need to target these individuals”.

Anyone with information on burglary or any other crime in the area can contact police on 101 or alternatively speak to Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555111.