Burglar jailed for Kettering raid and punching police officer after 80mph Northampton chase

A burglar who raided a Kettering home to steal a motorbike was finally caught after an 80mph chase through residential streets that ended in a crash and a police officer being punched.

Adam Arthur Kelly, 27, previously of Northampton, has been handed a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence after pleading guilty to the burglary and to assaulting a police officer.

Kelly broke into a house in Argyll Street in Kettering on December 10, 2020, by smashing a window pane. Once inside, he stole the keys to a Yamaha Tracer motorcycle and rode off on it.

The bike - with false number plates - was then spotted a month later by a police patrol who attempted to stop Kelly but the burglar sped off through the streets of Northampton, eventually falling off.

Lead investigator, Detective Constable Dave Bastuba, said: “The streets of Northamptonshire are safer as a result of this investigation as Adam Kelly is now safely behind bars and therefore unable to blight our communities with his shameless crimes anymore.

“This was a real team effort across the Force and I hope it shows that Northamptonshire Police are collectively determined to track down burglars and bring them to justice.

“I am also pleased that Kelly was convicted for assaulting one of my colleagues – none of us go to work to be assaulted and therefore when one of us is, it is imperative that we pursue justice against the offender.”

After the bike was stolen, enquiries made by detectives from the force’s burglary team led to Kelly being the prime suspect and a search began to have him arrested.

Some time later on January 11, 2021, officers on patrol spotted a motorcycle travelling at speed near Billing Road East and realised it was on a false number plate.

They attempted to stop it, however it made off at speed, travelling through a number of Northampton roads - St Gregory’s Road, Kettering Road, Broadmead Avenue and Lindsey Avenue - before the rider, Kelly, fell off it in Northwood Avenue.

At points during the pursuit, Kelly was travelling at speeds of up to 80mph in 30mph zones.

As an officer attempted to arrest him, Kelly punched him and ran off, before being tracked down by police nog Nala nearby and detained.

Kelly was subsequently charged with burglary and with assaulting an officer and at Northampton Crown Court on July 22, he pleaded guilty to both offences and was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.