Known sneak-in burglar broke into Wakefield home while occupants were in their garden

Ian Griffiths brazenly walked into the property on Henry Street via the front door, stealing a phone before quickly fleeing. He admitted an offence of dwelling burglary at Leeds Crown Court this week.

He appeared over video link from HMP Nottingham, where he was being held on remand, but had to be muted after he continued to interrupt the Crown’s case, calling it a “joke”.

Prosecuting the case, Brogan Riley said Griffiths was caught on camera entering the bungalow at around 12.45pm on May 2. Before that, he was seen to be looking through the window before trying the unlocked door.

He entered the living room and took the Samsung phone, which was in a wallet along with a debit card. The complainant and his wife had been in the back garden, and when Griffiths opened the front door, it caused the back door to slam. They immediately knew that the front door had been opened.

They went inside and saw the phone and wallet had been taken. They checked the CCTV and contacted the police. Two days later the 47-year-old was arrested near Wakefield bus station. He was still wearing the same clothes spotted on the CCTV.

He admitted the offence to officers, and then again during his interview. He had the debit card on him, but had not attempted to use it. He said he had thrown the phone away because it was pin-locked, was unable to access it and therefore he could not sell it.

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Griffiths, of the Royal Sovereign Hotel, Normanton, said he was drinking and taking diazepam at the time of the break in. He has 44 previous convictions for 96 offences, including similar sneak-in burglaries. He is a third-strike burglar, meaning he faced a mandatory three-year sentence.

Mitigating, Eleanor Mitten said his only mitigation was his early guilty plea, and that prior to his latest offending, he had largely stayed out of trouble for eight years.

Judge Andrew Stubbs KC said there were no exceptional circumstances to deviate from the mandatory sentence, but gave him credit for his early guilty plea. He was jailed for 876 days - almost 29 months.