An habitual burglar returned to type after a previous prison sentence, trying doors, sneaking into homes and taking car keys and other valuables, a court heard.
Jonathan Petch would then drive off in the victim’s cars, parked outside their homes, while he also used debit and credit cards stolen in the burglaries to make personal purchases.
Petch, 39, of no fixed abode, was back before Durham Crown Court for sentence after being found guilty at trial, in December, of three counts of burglary, which he denied.
He was convicted of all three offences on jury verdicts on the second day of the trial and appeared before the court today (Thursday March 20) for sentence, via video link from the city’s nearby prison, where he has said to have been on remand for almost a year since his arrest.
Adrian Strong, prosecuting, said the defendant also fell to be sentenced for a series of linked offences, including theft of motor vehicles, driving without insurance, failing to provide a breath specimen, fraudulent use of bank cards and seven counts of shop theft.
Mr Strong said the offences took place during a spree in March and April last year in the Spennymoor, Ferryhill and Durham areas.
Car keys were stolen in sneak break-ins at two properties in Spennymoor, and one in Durham, before Jaguar, Vokswagen Polo and Skoda Fabia cars were taken.
The frauds were for purchases of £87 and £50 at service stations, while the shoplifting offences, including four from the Co-op in Ferryhill, were for goods totalling £528.
Victim statements were read to the court on behalf of the frustrated car owners, who were left with the inconvenience of being without their vehicles for varying amounts of time following the thefts and who have either taken extra security measures, or have become more security-conscious, in the wake of the offences.
A business impact statement from the Co-op spoke of the loss of takings, custom, staff time and confidence, as a result of Petch’s brazen thefts.
The court heard Petch has a “long history” for dishonesty, with a dozen previous burglary offences on his record and an aggravating feature of the latest spate of offending was said to the fact he had not long since been released from prison from a previous sentence.
Chris Baker, in mitigation, told the court: “He falls to be sentenced for a spate of dishonesty with a background of previous similar convictions.
“There is some limited mitigation in that, although all the homes targeted were occupied at the time, there was limited intrusion or disturbance.”
Mr Baker spoke of the defendant’s “difficult and deprived” background after the death of his mother which saw him living in the care system, where he became a drug user from a young age.
He said the defendant has been on a cycle of offending to fund his drug addiction, returning to prison on a repeated basis over the last 20 years.
Mr Baker said after the defendant's previous prison release he was homeless and at his “lowest ebb”, searching for money to buy drugs.
Mr Baker said with a restored support structure from his wider family, Petch hopes to put his offending behind him when he is ultimately released from his latest sentence.
Given such an “horrendous record” the judge said he could have pushed the sentence above guideline recommendations.
But, given the limited intrusion into the victim’s homes and the principle of totality, he could limit the overall sentence to four years for the burglaries and concurrent lesser sentences for the other offences.
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Petch was also banned from driving for 24 months and he must then sit an extended re-test to lawfully be permitted to drive in future.
Judge Adams said he hopes the defendant can continue to make progress to ensure he stays “clean” of drugs on his release.
But he warned him if returns to his habit of committing burglaries upon release the sentences will only get longer in future.
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