$36,000 Worth of Chewing Gum Was Stolen In A Heist Conducted By Two Teenagers

Bubble gum, bubble gum, in a truck, how many pieces can you steal?

Two young men are in a heap of trouble after stealing $36,000 worth of Wrigley chewing gum.

On May 4th two young men from West Yorkshire, Ellis Benecke, 19, and Keon Sanderson, 18, stole the gum by breaking into an HGV at the M5 services.

The two thieves cut open the side of the truck while the driver was sleeping and removed seven of the 19 pallets of chewing gum inside into their own vehicle.

Another driver spotted the teens as they fled the scene and called the police. They were chased by police down the expressway where they drove in the wrong direction. Eventually, they abandoned their vehicle and fled on foot.

The young men were caught and arrested by police. Sanderson later pleaded guilty to theft, possession of cannabis, and failing to provide a breath test or sample of blood or urine for analysis.

Sanderson, 18, was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, pay a little over $200 court costs over the next six months, and was restricted from driving for 18 months for refusing to take a breathalyzer test or give a sample.

Benecke, who admitted to taking part in the theft in order to settle a drug debt, was given an eight-month prison sentence for theft and possession of cannabis. He was also ordered to complete 140 hours of unpaid work.

Ellis Benecke, who is now 20, was told by a judge "You incurred a drug debt and if you incur a debt through illegal activity, drug dealers are nasty people and that’s what they are going to do...You need to get off drugs; they are no good for anyone – you might have had a football career."

Read More Here (Yahoo/BBC/Metro)