Burglars caught after Leeds victims used tracker to trace stolen car
The pair had used a ladder to climb through a first-floor window
Residents turned detective to find their own car after a pair of burglars stole a van from outside of their home.
Darrin Docherty and Nathan Deighton were jailed for more than six years at Leeds Crown Court.
The pair targeted the property in Belle Isle in the early hours of May 25.
Deighton took ladders from a nearby property and propped them against the wall as Docherty climbed up and in through the window.
The couple were asleep inside at the time.
They took the keys to a Fiat 500 parked outside and a VW Transporter. The Transporter was then stolen.
But just hours later, the owners tracked the van, which they recovered.
They also had an AirTag attached to the keys which allowed them to track them down to an address in Walton, near Wetherby.
Deighton, 36, was arrested from the address days later.
The Fiat keys were tracked to an address in Kirkstall.
Docherty, 31, went on to commit another burglary in Belle Isle on May 29, in which he broke a patio door with a parasol weight and stole almost £500 worth of items, including jewellery, AirPods and a Bose speaker.
A van was also stolen from the driveway which was later found in Derbyshire on false registration plates.
Docherty, of no fixed address, admitted two counts of burglary and two of theft of vehicle.
Deighton, of East Park Mount, Richmond Hill, admitted one count of burglary.
Docherty has been recalled to prison until 2029 to continue serving a sentence for robberies.
He was part of a gang that used violence to steal from businesses in Leeds and was jailed in 2018 for 12 years.
Mitigating, Shannon Woodley said he had managed to stay out of trouble after being released on licence but was “effectively homeless”.
Meanwhile, Deighton has multiple burglaries on his record.
Mitigating, Maleka Akuani said Deighton accepted he faced an automatic jail sentence under the “third-strike” rule.
She said he is a father of two whose relationship broke down and he was left sofa surfing. She said he was drinking too much and abusing the Class C drug, pregabalin.
She said: “He is ashamed and embarrassed for his actions and would like to apologise through me to the victims.”
The judge, Recorder Simon Jackson KC jailed Docherty for 49 months and Deighton for 26 months.