AN offender has been branded a ‘professional criminal’ by magistrates who have put him behind bars.

Zack Miller has been locked up following an incident which police say involved a ‘lengthy search’ and a game of ‘hide and seek’ with a police dog.

The 26-year-old appeared before Crewe Magistrates’ Court recently to face a charge of going equipped for theft.

Prosecutor Jessica Pridding explained how this stemmed from an incident shortly after 3.30am on Thursday, March 21.

Cheshire Police was called to reports of suspicious activity on Thorneycroft Drive in Fairfield, with the caller reported a man attempting to break into cars in the area.

Officers attended, supported by the police dogs unit, and 26-year-old man was arrested in the area after being found in possession of wire cutters and gloves to use for theft.

At the time, Cheshire and North Wales Police Dogs Unit said: “Grit, determination, patience and a little game of hide and seek resulted in one man arrested for theft offences.

“Stolen property was also recovered by police dog Jax and his handler following a lengthy search in Warrington.”

Miller, of Howson Road in Orford, was subsequently charged with going equipped for theft and remanded in custody.

This was not his first taste of incarceration, with the defendant appearing before the courts previously.

A previous sentencing heard in October 2021 how at that time he had 19 previous convictions, four of which were for possession of a bladed article and one for possession of a knuckleduster.

He appeared before Liverpool Crown Court in October 2021 after police found he was carrying another knuckleduster.

Cheshire Police was called to reports of a man in a doorway at in Orford who was believed to have been involved in a theft.

An investigation found that Miller had no links to the theft, but due to the nature of the allegation, officers asked to search him for any evidence linking him to the crime.

None was found, but a search of a white plastic bag on his person revealed he was in possession of a black knuckleduster.

Miller told police that the bag was not his and that he was just ‘binning it’, but later told the court he carries weapons ‘for his own protection’ as he has drug debts.

He told the court that he intended to sort his life out when he gets out of prison, with a judge jailing him for eight months.

For his latest offending last month, Miller pleaded guilty to the going equipped for theft charge and was sentenced to six weeks immediate imprisonment.

He was also told he must pay costs to the Crown Prosecution Service of £120 and a victim surcharge of £154, while magistrates approved an order to deprive him of the wire cutters and gloves.

Jailing him, magistrates remarked that the nature and severity of the offending merited a custodial sentence, taking into his account his number of previous convictions and a judgement that he is ‘operating as a professional criminal’.