Career burglar jailed for crime spree in which he targeted 10 Leeds homes
A burglar who began breaking into homes at the age of 15 has been jailed again after targeting 10 homes in a frenzied spree.
While he was unable to gain access to most, Michael Swanson was able to steal cars from the driveway of two homes and used stolen bank cards from one break-in to buy goods in Leeds city centre.
The 34-year-old appeared in Leeds Crown Court this week via a videolink from HMP Leeds where he admitted a raft of offences, including three dwelling burglaries, seven attempted burglaries and the theft of two cars.
He was caught on multiple CCTV and doorbell cameras during his spree, wearing a balaclava and often accompanied by an assailant. They would try door handles or windows before moving onto neighbouring properties if they failed to gain access.
The break-ins stretched between August and October of this year, and included homes on Kingswood Gardens in Moor Allerton and Oakwood Place in Roundhay.
From the latter, he stole a Playstation, a wallet containing bank cards and the keys to the Volvo parked outside. He then stole the Volvo itself.
Swanson used the bank cards in Misha Food & Wine in Harehills, a vending machine at St James’s Hospital and Popeye’s chicken restaurant.
The Volvo was later recovered, but a Skoda he took in the Moor Allerton burglary was never found.
Attempts were also made to break into homes in Rothwell and Oulton among others.
Swanson, of Beech Crescent, Gipton, was arrested and interviewed but gave a prepared statement denying all of the offences.
He has 26 previous convictions for 65 offences. His first burglary and robbery were committed as a youth and was only given a 17-month suspended sentence a matter of months prior to the spree.
Mitigating, Nathan Davis said Swanson accepted it would be custodial sentence of “significant length”.
He said that since his release from a previous sentence he fell back into previous drug-taking behaviour with associates, and needed to commit crime to fund his habit.
Mr Davis said: “It does not excuse his actions but provides some context.”
He said Swanson was now clean in prison, but suffered from depression with “features of schizophrenia”, although he conceded there was no formal diagnosis.
Judge Neil Clark said Swanson was subject to the three-strike burglary rule, meaning he would automatically receive a minimum three-year sentence, but said it would be a much higher starting point due to his lengthy criminal record.
He jailed him for seven years, but also activated six months of his previous suspended sentence, which would run consecutively.