Burglar targeted Leeds student homes while high on heartburn pills
A burglar caught breaking into student homes later told police he blacked out - having taken indigestion tablets.
Michael Forbes told officers he had taken five Zantac pills - usually sold over-the-counter to relieve heartburn - and could not recall his actions. Appearing at Leeds Crown Court he admitted a dwelling burglary and a non-dwelling burglary.
Prosecutor Anthony Moor said a student living at the Live Oasis accomodation on Wade Lane had been expecting a parcel of food and other items, valued at £300, on May 19. When she went to the parcel-delivery area of the building in the ground-floor communal area, the package was missing.
The box was later found inside the building with the contents had gone. CCTV was checked and Forbes was spotted gaining entry via an unsecure fire exit.
But a day later he broke into a shared student house on Archery Road in Woodhouse and stole a TV. A doorbell camera was checked and again picked up him entering the property in the early hours.
Police caught up with Forbes at the Kingston Hotel on Kingston Terrace, Woodhouse and arrested him. They found two TV sets in his room, but neither were from the house on Archery Road.
Forbes, 43, was interviewed but said he had no recollection of the break-ins. He said he had taken Zantac and had “blacked out”. He has 50 previous convictions for 98 offences, including multiple non-dwelling burglaries. He was also on 10-week suspended sentence at the time of the latest burglaries, putting him in breach.
He appeared in court via video link from HMP Nottingham, where he was being held on remand. Mitigating on his behalf, Stephen Swan said drugs had blighted Forbes life and he had been “self-medicating” at the time.
He said the authorities were trying to find him a new, more suitable home for when he is released. He said: “There is hope. He is man not without intelligence, but who has made some very bad choices over a period of time.”
The judge, Recorder Alex Menary, activated the suspended sentence, so gave him an overall sentence of 26 months.