A burglar broke into a home and stole belongings as the owners slept upstairs before returning two hours later to steal their Audi.
Liam Blakey walked into an unlocked home in Ferryhill on June 17 this year and took off with car keys and two handbags as the owners slept upstairs. But a couple of hours later, the 40-year-old decided to give the address another try and returned, this time taking off in an Audi A4 before ditching it soon after.
Blakey, of Hallgarth Terrace, Ferryhill, appeared at Durham Crown Court on Monday via link from HMP Durham to be sentenced for burglary, theft, and taking a vehicle without the owner's consent. He was also sentenced for driving without a licence and pleaded guilty to all charges at a previous hearing.
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Ian West, prosecuting, said Blakey went to a property in the West View area of the town shortly after 11pm and entered it after the door had been left unlocked by the occupants, who were sleeping upstairs. The keys to an Audi A4 had also been left in the door. He said: "CCTV captured the defendant enter the address. While inside, he removed two handbags, sunglasses, and the keys to an Audi A4. He then used the keys to unlock the Audi and removed a rucksack from the vehicle then left."
However, two hours after the burglary, Blakey returned to the scene. Mr West said: "This time he got in the car and started it up and drove it away using the keys he had stolen. He abandoned the car a short distance up the road. He was identified from the CCTV and when arrested the sunglasses were recovered, but the two handbags remain outstanding and were valued at around £320."
In interview, Blakey, who had 74 previous convictions for 167 offences, including a number for burglary, made no comment in interview and denied it was him on CCTV.
Tony Davis, defending, said Blakey had been engaging well in custody but had resumed taking drugs when given accommodation. He said: "When he was given sheltered accommodation he was placed with another addict. That was a recipe for disaster and possibly led to this offending. It seemed as if there was an inevitability he would be caught as he was looking into the CCTV."
Judge James Adkin, the Recorder of Durham, jailed Blakey for 13 months.
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