Man who absconded trial for £500,000 rare coin theft in Northamptonshire jailed
Clinton Bowen, 44, absconded whilst on trial at Gloucester Crown Court in February 2025
A 44-year-old man who absconded whilst on trial for conspiring to steal rare coins worth £500,000 has been jailed after being arrested in Cheltenham.
Clinton Bowen, previously of Ironbridge Road, Twigworth, absconded whilst on trial at Gloucester Crown Court in February 2025 for conspiracy to commit burglary.
Bowen was arrested on Sunday night (January 11) when officers attended a Cheltenham address on an unrelated matter.
One of the officers identified Bowen after he provided false details.
Further checks in custody confirmed his identity.
The trial had focused on a burglary in Northamptonshire, which took place on 10th March 2024.
In court it was heard that Bowen had hatched a plan, alongside other co-conspirators, to burgle the house of a coin dealer.
The gang had arranged a meeting with the victim on the pretence of wanting to sell him a private coin collection.
Whilst Bowen distracted the victim, one of the gang placed a tracker on his car in order to ascertain where he lived.
Two weeks later, on the night of March 10 2024, four masked burglars broke into the coin dealer's house while he and his wife slept upstairs and stole £500,000 worth of coins.
The victim confronted the burglars as they tried to drive off in a stolen car, but one attacker stabbed him in the leg, causing him to back off.
However, the victim managed to memorize the car’s number plate.
An investigation by Northamptonshire Police led to Bowen’s arrest and charges of conspiracy to commit burglary.
Bowen had been in attendance at court until the penultimate day of the trial, when he absconded.
A warrant was issued for his arrest by a judge and Bowen was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison in his absence.
He is then believed to have travelled to Spain.
Bowen reappeared at Gloucester Crown Court on Monday (January 12) where his initial sentence was reaffirmed with an additional two-month consecutive term for breaching bail.
Temporary Detective Inspector Carrie Benbow said: "Thanks to vigilance of PC Sam Jones, who recognised him, Bowen is now beginning his sentence behind bars - where he rightly belongs.
"His cowardly attempt to escape justice by fleeing overseas only served to increase his sentence.
"I hope the victim in this case will now find some peace in the knowledge that Bowen is off the streets for a long time."