'Extremely distressing' burglar who was caught kneeling by his victim's bed in Knottingley jailed
A burglar who was caught kneeling by his victim's bed whilst he was asleep has been jailed.
Lewis Roebuck, aged 33, entered a house on Vale Crescent in Knottingley via the back door in the early hours of June 23 this year. He started looting the property, with the victim then waking up to find Roebuck dressed in dark clothes kneeling to look under his bed.
Roebuck then ran out into the garden before the man realised that several items, including a wallet, phone and pocket watch, had been taken from his home.
Police managed to pin down Roebuck after lifting footprints from the scene which forensic analysis successfully matched to his trainer's.
Roebuck, of Vale Head Mount in Knottingley, changed his plea to guilty on the day of his trial and he has now been sentenced to three years in jail for burglary.
DC Ryan Johnson of Wakefield District Crime Team, the detective in the case, said: “A person’s home is a place where they should feel safe and it must have been extremely distressing for the victim to wake in the middle of the night to find a stranger in his bedroom.
“We were able to quickly identify and forensically link Roebuck to this crime and I hope this positive action provides some reassurance to our communities.”