Leeds burglars terrified young women after smashing into 'wrong house' in Burley in middle of night

Kian Mason, 22, and Bailey Read, 20, had been drinking heavily when they broke into a house in Bankfield Terrace, Burley on December 16 last year. Leeds Crown Court heard that the property’s residents, two young professionals, were woken up shortly after 4am by banging noises.

They heard the glass panel on the front door smash and called the police, before hearing noises in the kitchen and men shouting violent threats. After a few minutes, they heard one defendant say “this is the wrong house”, before hearing them leave.

Mason and Read had stolen two bottles of spirits, house keys and two pairs of car keys, but neither car was stolen, which one of the victims believes was due to the cars behind severely iced over in -6C weather.

Police arrived at the property shortly before 4.30am and found a puffer jacket hanging off the front wall, which contained a driving licence belonging to Mason in the pocket. Officers visited his house and found both defendants outside in the front garden and they were arrested. The keys were recovered and the bottles of alcohol were found in the garden.

During police interviews, Mason initially denied being present at the Burley property and said he had lent his jacket to Read, but later pleaded guilty to the burglary. Mason told a probation officer he had been “drinking excessively” that day and they went to the property as they believed his sister’s boyfriend lived there, who he alleged was abusive to her, and they went to confront him.

Mitigating for Mason, who has no previous convictions, Richard Canning said: “He does maintain that he was in the wrong house…he’d had too much to drink and he tells me he’d been goaded that night by the sister’s boyfriend. He made a stupid miscalculation.”

Read also pleaded guilty to the burglary. He told a probation officer that after realising what they had done, he “deeply regrets it” and admits it must have been “absolutely terrifying and devastating” for the occupants. During mitigation, the court heard his drinking escalated after his father passed away last summer.

Read has a number of previous convictions, including burglary in 2016. At the time of the Burley burglary, he was on police bail and subject to a warrant for his arrest after being charged with racially-motivated harassment and failing to attend magistrates court. He was sentenced to a community order for that offence on January 12 this year.

Passing his sentencing remarks, Judge Simon Batiste said: “[The victims] were understandably terrified by having people downstairs, potentially issuing threats. It was, I am satisfied, a terrifying incident.”

Read, of Manor Farm Road, Middleton, was sentenced to 15 months at a young offender’s institute. Mason, of Richmond Terrace, Pontefract, was handed a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 200 hours of unpaid work.

Addressing Mason, Judge Batiste said: “You are being given one chance and one chance only. I suggest you take it.”