A MAN "off his face" on Valium who burgled his neighbour stopped to repair the letter box he had broken before stealing two TVs — dropping one of them as he made good his escape.
Swansea Crown Court heard that Jonathan Heaven was asked to leave the flat he was living in in Three Crosses because of his drug use — and responded by breaking into his neighbour's house.
The 26-year-old forced the letter box of the Coed Lan property and undid the door lock before letting himself in.
Heaven took two televisions, a DVD player and around £400 in cash — then used a glue gun to try to repair the damaged letter box.
The court heard that the homeowner and Heaven's former landlord confronted him about the incident but he denied it — however, police found his fingerprints on the inside of the letter box.
Heaven, of Paviland Place, Portmead, had previously pleaded guilty to burglary when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
The court heard that in his police interview he told officers he had been "off my face on Valium" at the time of the May 21 burglary.
He also told officers he had left the scene in a vehicle — but had dropped one of the TVs as he fled. He refused to give any details of the car.
The court heard Heaven has 17 previous convictions for 25 offences including for shoplifting, burglary, possession of a knife, and robbery.
Jon Tarrant, for Heaven, said his client had mental health issues and was on extensive daily medication — a situation "not helped" by his abuse of Valium.
Recorder Paul Lewis QC told the defendant he had a long history of previous offending stretching back to when he was juvenile, and that the Three Crosses burglary had clearly involved a degree of planning.
The judge sentenced Heaven to two years in prison
Read more: http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/burglar-off-his-face-on-valium-used-glue-gun-to-repair-broken-letter-box/story-29453313-detail/story.html#ixzz4DHMOtgbD
Follow us: @SWEveningPost on Twitter | SWEveningPost on Facebook
Read more at http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/burglar-off-his-face-on-valium-used-glue-gun-to-repair-broken-letter-box/story-29453313-detail/story.html#8cpxftEuHlkoTreT.99
No comments:
Post a Comment