Teenager jailed for burglary spree across Chesterfield and Dronfield – after facing charges for 45 offences

Dylan Steele, aged 19, was initially charged with 14 offences in June of this year. These included seven counts of burglary, one count of attempted burglary and six counts of theft of a motor vehicle across Derbyshire and South Yorkshire.

Steele’s initial offences took place in Dronfield, along with the Bramley, Wickersley and Treeton areas of Rotherham, between May and June this year.

He pleaded guilty to all of these offences, and requested 31 other dwelling burglary offences be taken into consideration. These offences took place between September 2022 and June 2023 across Derbyshire, Rotherham and Sheffield.

These consisted of:

17 further offences in the Derbyshire area, mainly throughout Chesterfield and Dronfield

10 further offences in Rotherham – mainly in the districts of Aston, Swallownest and Wickersley

Four further offences in Sheffield

Steele – formerly of Water Slacks Close, Sheffield – was sentenced to five years and three months at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, September 22.

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Investigation officer Shannon Lake, who led the investigation, said: “Steele’s offending was prolific and during his time with officers he explained how his preferred method of entry to homes was by snapping door locks.

“He would search for car keys and, when found, steal the victim’s vehicle. These were in the main high value premium vehicles.

“May I take this opportunity to encourage homeowners to review their home security and consider upgrading their locks to three-star anti-snap locks, as these are more secure. You can also install CCTV systems and driveway security bollards or an overt security device on your vehicles such as wheel clamps or steering locks.

“We hope that seeing Steele imprisoned will provide some closure to the victims whose properties he targeted and they can now start to move on with their lives.