A CROOK who was caught over the drink-drive limit in a £20,000 car which had been stolen a day earlier has been jailed for two years.
Anthony Hart, 37, was arrested after getting drunk and going around to his ex-partner’s home in the stolen Audi on September 9 this year.
Leeds Crown Court heard Hart, of Scott Hall Road, Leeds, drove the vehicle to her home and began banging on the door.
Hart’s daughter contacted her grandfather to tell him Hart was heavily drunk and trying to gain access to the property.
Hart then left but returned to the address a short time later to find his father there.
The defendant then continued to be abusive and his father took the car keys from him and threw them in a bush.
Police were called and recovered the keys.
They arrested Hart when they discovered the vehicle’s bonnet was still warm.
Dale Brook, prosecuting, said the Audi has been stolen a day earlier after a burglary at a house in Leeds.
He added: “Mr Hart was in possession of it a relatively short period after it was stolen. There is no suggestion that he was involved in the burglary.”
After his arrest, Hart was found to be one-and-a-half times the drink-drive limit.
Hart admitted in interview that he bought the vehicle for just a few hundred pounds.
He said he was told the vehicle was stolen and he bought it to make a profit.
Hart pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods, drink-driving and having no insurance.
The court heard he has 18 pervious convictions for 83 offences, including burglary and robbery. He was released from his latest prison sentence in March this year.
James Littlehales, mitigating, said Hart had bought the stolen vehicle in a bid to make some money as he had been unable to find work since being released from jail.
Jailing Hart, Judge Tom Bayliss QC said: “Without people like you there would be no outlet for burglars. It is a very serious matter.”
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