Leeds thief who stole items worth more than £5,700 during crime spree is locked up

Thomas Collett from Seacroft was on bail for a burglary he committed in the Osmondthorpe area of Leeds when he went on the rampage, stealing from Asda, Co-op, Matalan, Morrisons and Tesco among other stores.

The 25-year-old appeared at Leeds Crown Court via video link from HMP Leeds and admitted a charge of burglary, multiple thefts from shops and using threatening behaviour.

Prosecutor Emma Handley said that Collett had first targeted the home of an elderly woman with dementia on Dawlish Street sometime between April 14 and 16.

After prising open the garage door, he stole a £300 mountain bike and more than £3,000 worth of fishing equipment.

His finger print was found at the property and he was subsequently arrested.

But as inquiries continued, he then began stealing from shops, first on July 8, taking £60 worth of meat from Asda in Leeds.

Between then and September 1, he stole items worth £2,419.

However, on one occasion in Co-op in Swarcliffe, he made threats to a worker when they challenged him.

Collett told him: "I’m going to get you outside when you finish work. I’m going to batter you.”

The court was told that Collett, of Ramshead Gardens, has 37 convictions for 75 offences, many of which are for theft.

Mitigating, Stuart Field said that Collett deserved credit for entering full guilty pleas, particularly for the burglary, and said: "He could have tried to explain the fingerprint away, but he did not.

"He was unequivocal about what he wanted to do and that was guilty pleas to everything.

"For most of this period (of offending) he was homeless.

"He is drug free since he has been in prison, and he has the resolve to stay that way.”

The judge, Recorder Abdul Iqbal KC handed him 15 months’ jail and said of the garage burglary: “It’s plain it was not just a momentary lapse by you to snatch the first thing at hand.

"It was an assessment by you to take things that were most worthy.”