Trio jailed for Bury St Edmunds jewellery theft of £13,000

Radu Niculescu, 29, and two women both named Loredana Sava, 31 and 35, appeared remotely at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday, where they were sentenced by Judge Richard Kelly.

The court heard that the three, all formerly of Pembroke Avenue in Luton and Romanian nationals, had maintained that they happened to be in Bury St Edmunds on February 17 this year and had stolen from Romark Jewellers in Abbeygate Street in the spur of the moment.

Judge Kelly rejected this explanation as “utterly fanciful”. Each of the defendants, he said, had a “terrible” record for dishonest offences, both in the UK and overseas. Each of the three has previously been deported and returned to the UK.

Romark Jewellers in Bury St Edmunds (Image: Google Maps)

On the day of the theft, the three travelled from Luton to the shop in Bury St Edmunds, which Judge Kelly said they had identified as a small, independent store which clearly had expensive items.

He describe the operation the defendants conducted as a “slick performance”, with the elder Sava telling the owner of the shop that she needed jewellery as presents for her sister’s wedding, with the others adding weight to this story.

Radu Niculescu was jailed at Ipswich Crown Court (Image: Suffolk police)

In a victim impact statement, owner Xavier Robinson said he was taken in by their friendliness, and said they showed “no nerves or apprehension”.

While Mr Robinson calculated a price, two bags of jewellery, one large and one small, were placed on the counter. While he was distracted, the defendants managed to remove this smaller bag.

Loredana Sava, 31 (Image: Suffolk police)

The elder Sava then asked if the shop accepted dollars, “knowing full well they would not,” said Judge Kelly. The defendants then made their getaway under the guise of heading to a cashpoint.

Mr Robinson said that when he realised what had happened, he was “hit by an immediate sinking feeling in his stomach”. He said he felt angry, both with himself and the thieves, and had played the interaction over and over in his mind.

Judge Kelly sentenced the elder Sava to a period of 33 months in custody, reduced to 22 months in light of her early guilty plea.

Niculescu was given three years, which likewise was reduced to two. He had also breached a previously suspended sentence, which Judge Kelly activated for three weeks.

Loredana Sava, 35 (Image: Suffolk police)

The younger Sava was also sentenced to three years. However, Judge Kelly reduced this to 27 months for her guilty plea, and then reduced it further to 20 months, being mindful of her caring responsibilities.

The court heard that Sava has three children, the youngest of whom she was still breastfeeding at the time of her arrest.

Sava, too, had breached a suspended sentence, which Judge Kelly activated for three weeks, to run concurrently alongside her longer sentence.