Heartless Leeds burglar stole children's toys during festive break-in
A burglar stole children’s Christmas presents after twice returning to the same house.
Gareth Vaughan broke into the Armley home and stole bank cards, before returning hours later to gather the gifts, only to be caught by the homeowners who had returned in the meantime.
The 46-year-old, who has a long criminal record, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week.
Appearing in court over a video link from HMP Leeds, he admitted the dwelling burglary, 11 counts of theft and fraud by false representation.
Drug addict Vaughan targeted the Tesco store in Bramley on 11 occasions between November last year and January, stealing alcohol, meat, cleaning products and gift sets.
The total amount stolen came to £646.
On the afternoon of January 1 this year, a family had left their home in Armley but a short time later the mum received notifications that her bank cards had been used in shops.
The woman returned home to find the rear bifolding doors of the house had been smashed open.
Her purse was missing, as were her car keys. Christmas presents for her son had been moved to the back garden but left.
While she was home, she spotted Vaughan return to the property at around 7.20pm, climbing the six-foot fence and grabbing the presents.
Vaughan was arrested on January 17 after officers found him hiding in the loft of his home on Snowdon Lawn in Bramley.
He denied involvement in the burglary, but said he was “off his trolley” at the time on drugs and alcohol.
He has 29 previous convictions for 66 offences, including nine burglaries.
In a victim impact statement, read to the court by the mum from the burgled house, she said the home had been the family’s “safe space” but that had been “completely destroyed” by Vaughan.
She said her children were left frightened that he would return and even blamed themselves.
Mitigating for Vaughan, Craig Sutcliffe said: “There’s little he can say to answer the upset he has caused. His best mitigation is his early guilty plea.”
He said Vaughan was released from prison in 2022 and had initially managed to stay away from drugs that had been the “bane of his life”.
He fell back into his former ways after moving to Bramley.
The judge, Recorder Andrew Haslam KC told Vaughan: “Some people never recover from the trauma of having their home burgled.
“You destroyed the security they felt their home offered.
“The effect on the children has been profound.”
He jailed Vaughan for three years.