Shane Connor, 44, has been convicted of assaulting and robbing an elderly couple at gunpoint during an early morning home invasion, which was the culmination of a late-night crime spree in 2017.
He was found guilty by a jury on Tuesday, 28 Sept., following a two-week trial on charges of aggravated burglary, robbery, possession of an unlicensed firearm, attempted burglary, theft and damage to property. The charges stem from a series of incidents that stretched from the late hours of 17 June 2017 through the early morning of 18 June.
Although he was tried alone, Connor committed the crimes with Elmer Wright, who was convicted of similar charges in relation to the same incident in January 2020. Both men were joined by Caine Thomas, who pleaded guilty to the same charges and later gave evidence against them in exchange for a reduced sentence.
The trio was assisted by Nikel Thomas, Caine Thomas’s older brother, who admitted to being the lookout for police while the men committed the crimes. He pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and simple burglary at the start of Wright’s trial.
Attempted burglary and car theft
The crime spree began when Wright, Connor, and Caine Thomas attempted to break into a condo on West Bay Road. The men were caught on camera outside the unit. Their faces were covered with masks. Wright and Connor were both armed with handguns, while Thomas had a hammer.
In the CCTV video, the men could be seen dancing while trying to break into the home. However, they were frightened off before getting into the home after the alarm was triggered. This led to the men being charged with attempted burglary and damage to property.
After being chased away by the alarm the men then went to a nearby resort along West Bay Road where Wright proceeded to steal a parked car, while Connor and Thomas hid in a nearby bush. The men then sped away, which led to them being charged with theft of the vehicle.
From there they headed to Patrick’s Island where they went on to break into the couple’s home.
Home invasion
While giving evidence against Wright, Caine Thomas said they “kicked in the bedroom door while the couple was asleep and shouted, ‘Freeze, don’t move, this is the police’. By the time they realised we were not the police it was too late”.
The three men then tied the couple to chairs and demanded cash. When the couple initially begged for the men to stop, the husband was struck with a hammer, while Connor made sexual advances to the wife.
During Wright’s trial, Thomas said Wright told the couple he had killed five people before, and they would be victim numbers six and seven.
The men would go on to steal more than $30,000 worth of jewellery and electronics before leaving the house. This incident led to the charges of aggravated burglary, robbery and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Tracked down
All four men were eventually tracked down and arrested after police followed up on leads and, in some cases, made unrelated arrests that led to the discovery of evidence.
Police were first called to the couple’s home after the wife managed to free herself and her husband. Officers were able to track their smartwatch, which led to the recovery of the stolen items that were found in a bag hidden in bushes.
Several hours after the incident, Caine Thomas was pulled over by officers for a traffic violation. He sped off, and when officers pursued and caught him, they discovered masks and clothes in the car that were later discovered through CCTV footage to be identical to what was used to commit the attempted burglary.
Police later went to Nikel Thomas’s home to speak with him about a separate undisclosed matter. When officers arrived, he fled and was eventually arrested. Officers later downloaded the contents of his phone and found several messages between him and the other men, which were sent while the crimes were being committed.
Wright denied any knowledge of the crimes and said Caine Thomas was lying. He claimed he was at one of his girlfriends’ homes at the time of the incident. Wright was given two life sentences and has since been sent to a maximum-security prison in the UK where he is currently serving his sentence. He was also convicted of possessing a bulletproof vest and 112 rounds of ammunition after a separate trial. When sentencing him, Justice Roger Chapple described Wright as a ruthless and dangerous individual.
Connor also accused Thomas of lying. He claimed he was asleep on a beach in East End at the time of the incidents, and that he was being framed by a network of corrupt individuals. He has not yet been sentenced and remains in custody.
Nikel Thomas was given a suspended sentence with a supervision order for his guilty pleas, while Caine Thomas has not yet been sentenced.
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