A prolific thief targeted vulnerable elderly women in distraction burglaries which left one of his victim's life shattered. The "heartless" burglar carried out the thefts to feed his drug addiction.
Kevin Leigh, 58, barged his way into women's' houses for tenuous reasons and asked them to change bank notes which allowed him to see where they kept money. Upon seeing where cash was being kept, the defendant would ask for a glass of water and run off with the stash.
His latest sentencing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday is the latest in a long line of offences which dated back to him being 11-years-old. Leigh said the burglaries were "not personal" but he was told the intrusion into his victims' homes would have a lasting effect.
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The first of the latest burglaries took place in Aberdare on May 23 last year when he rang the 60-year-old partially sighted victim's doorbell and asked if she had any bric a brac. She volunteered an aluminum garden chair but when she went to get it Leigh let himself into her house. He then asked her to change some bank notes and asked for a pen before leaving.
The victim then checked her bedroom drawer and found £200 in £20 notes had been taken. Leigh was revealed as the culprit when forensic examinations revealed he had been at the the house.
In a victim personal statement, the victim said she couldn't forget the burglary, which she described as "the day my life and the person I am changed forever". She said her physical and mental health had deteriorated as a result and her nerves are "completely shattered". She said she now physically shakes when alone in the house and felt naïve for letting the defendant into her home. She added: "My life is shattered."
The second burglary took place in Penarth on May 26 last year when the 86-year-old victim saw Leigh outside her living room window and he appeared to be in pain. Defendant Cat Jones said the defendant waved at her and knocked on her door, asking for a glass of water.
He then followed the victim inside her home and again asked for change from bank notes. The victim went to get a bag from her bedroom but Leigh followed her. He then asked for another glass of water and asked about the summerhouse in the garden. Wishing for him to leave, the victim agreed but once she was in the garden the defendant went back into the house and ran out of the front door. When the victim looked her bag containing £30 and various cards was missing. Leigh was again forensically linked to the scene.
The defendant, of HMP Parc, later pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary. The court heard he had convictions for more than 100 offences, including 80 offences of burglary. Leigh is currently serving a six-year prison sentence for burglary offences also committed in 2021.
Both took place in Llandaff, Cardiff, when Leigh offered to clean his victim's window but once in her house he took a vanity case containing £1,120 and sentimental jewellery. A second similar offence took place when he stole £1,600 from a bedroom drawer.
Defence barrister Tim Lewis described his client as a "prolific burglar and thief". He said Leigh did not seek out his victims on a "personal level" and carried out the burglaries to fund his addiction to heroin and cocaine. Mr Lewis said the defendant was "trying to suppress memories and feelings" from his childhood in care.
Sentencing, Judge Paul Hobson said: "It's difficult to imagine a worse record for burglary than yours....Your favoured mode of burglary is to talk your way into the home of your victim on some pretext or other and remove valuable items when you find any. Your victims are elderly women living alone, that is the blueprint of what you do and you have been doing it for many years.
"You have no doubt heard this lecture before but what you are engaging is heartless behaviour and causes great distress to innocent and vulnerable victims. Such behaviour has become a way of life and has come to define you."
Leigh was sentenced to two years and four months imprisonment. This will be consecutive to his current six-year sentence.
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