A homeowner who confronted a burglar now faces court action after the raider rang police and reported him for assault, a court heard.
Shaun Christopher Lloyd, of Mostyn, Flintshire, was convicted of burglary with intent to steal during a trial held in his absence at Wrexham Magistrates Court today.
Homeowner Stephen Hopwood, 48, who gave evidence at the hearing, will be tried at the same court next month after he was charged with assault.
Lloyd, 29, was found guilty of trying to steal a motorbike worth £2,000 which was locked up in a shed attached to Mr Hopwood’s semi-detached home at Groesffordd, Greenfield, at around 1.30am on August 3 this year.
Mr Hopwood told the court he was woken up by a “loud bang” and noticed the top of a person’s head when he looked outside his window.
He got dressed, grabbed the handle of a broken pick axe and opened his back door leading into the shed building, which was completely open at the back.
Mr Hopwood told the court: “To my surprise I saw a figure sort of lurch up towards me and ran towards the back garden.
“You’re not expecting to see someone. I’ve instinctively swung for him. I know I caught him across the back.”
He said as Lloyd climbed onto one of the fences, he “swung for him again”.
Mr Hopwood said: “I think I may have caught him on his back and on his arm.”
The court heard a padlock to the front gates of the shed had been removed, items inside had been disturbed with attempts made to pull the padlock off the bike.
Rob Blakemore, prosecuting, told the court Lloyd later phoned the police after “suffering injuries because of Mr Hopwood’s intervention”.
He said Lloyd’s version of events were he’d been out drinking with friends, it began “lashing down” and he took shelter in the shed.
Lloyd’s explanation for being “armed with a pair of gloves” was he’d been gardening during the day, the court heard.
Statements read out in court from two police officers said it had not been raining and the defendant had said Mr Hopwood was “only protecting his property”.
The magistrates’ bench said they did not believe Lloyd’s account and found the case proven in his absence.
For full story see - http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/flintshire-burglar-confronted-homeowner-called-10362657
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