Baby-faced burglar locked up

4:39pm Thursday 8th February 2007

A BABY-FACED burglar who raided an elderly neighbours home is behind bars after a judge told him: "I cant send you back next door to this lady."

Teenager Thomas Oliver was locked up for 20 months after he told the judge his time on remand awaiting sentence had done him good.

Oliver and his pals sneaked into the 75-year-old womans home on Teesside after a session of taking drugs and drinking vodka.

They took a mobile phone, cigarettes, a lighter and a jewellery box containing items of sentimental value to the pensioner.

A court heard today that 18-year-old Oliver sold the phone for £5, smoked the cigarettes, broke the lighter and threw away the valuables.

But after feeling guilty and sobering up, the teenager retrieved the jewellery from a bin and returned it to the householder.

Teesside Crown Court heard that after his arrest the following month, Oliver told police: "It wasn't gold, so I threw it away."

The pensioner's home was entered on the night of October 13 after she had gone to bed leaving the door unlocked because she could not find her key.

Oliver, who was also living in Moray Road, Stockton, at the time, told police he and his friends had been "mooching around".

He said they were drunk and looking for a scooter to steal as they garden-hopped, and found the pensioner's door unlocked.

Ruth Phillips, defending, described the offence as "foolish and opportunistic", and said Oliver had shown remorse by taking back the jewellery and owning up to police.

Judge Peter Bowers told the teenager, who admitted burglary: "At least you did the right thing and tried to return some of the stuff, but I think house burglary at night has got to mean prison."