Burglar who targeted Leeds business twice caught after stolen iPhone tracked to his home
A burglar who broke into the same Leeds business twice just days apart was caught after an iPhone he stole was tracked by the owner.
Drug addict Steven Regan smashed his way into Face Perfect Clinic on Park Square on September 16, stealing around £5,000 worth of items, including iPads.
But the tracker took the owner right to Regan’s address on Kingston Terrace. Having been arrested, interviewed and bailed, he went back to the shop just nine days later and broke in again, taking another £3,500 worth of equipment.
Finally, on October 5 he broke into Leeds Mathematics School on Albion Street and took items of an unknown value.
The 46-year-old admitted three counts of non-dwelling burglary. He appeared at Leeds Crown Court via video link from HMP Leeds where he was being held on remand. He has 25 previous convictions for theft and similar offences.
A victim impact statement was read to the court by the owner of Face Perfect Clinic who said the break-ins had a major impact on the business, and the losses incurred could lead to redundancies.
Mitigating, Benjamin Whittingham said the break-ins were “unsophisticated” and that he had entered early guilty pleas.
He said: “He was suffering from drug addiction at the time. He has had it on and off for 20 years and he was simply pre-occupied with feeding that habit.”
He said Regan was a father of four and had been clean until his partner was murdered two years ago, and he turned to drugs again. Judge Mushtaq Khokhar jailed him for 15 months.