Persistent Leeds criminal claimed he found bank card that was stolen in burglary
Known criminal jailed under “three-strike “ rule.
A burglar who broke into a home in Castleford before returning to Leeds then tried to use a bank card in a petrol station.
Edward Swanson then claimed he had found the bank card and chanced his arm to use it in the shop.
But the 43-year-old, who has more than 140 criminal offences to his name, later admitted the break-in and a charge of fraud for attempting to use the card.
Leeds Crown Court heard that the victim from Leeds Road in Castleford had woken at around 5.30m on June 3 last year and found the lights on.
An Xbox games console was missing, as was cash, a purse and a credit card and bank card.
CCTV from outside captured two men with their faces covered.
The victim then later got a notification that the bank card was being used in a BP garage in Harehills.
After being identified and arrested, Swanson, of no fixed address, claimed he had never been to Castleford.
Mitigating, Nathan Davis said Swanson’s addiction to drugs “does not excuse but gives context” to his behaviour.
He said it stemmed from his traumatic childhood.
Swanson appeared in court over a video link from HMP Leeds.
But Judge Andrew Stubbs KC said it needed to be custody due to his previous burglaries. Under sentencing guidelines, criminals who commit three or more burglaries are subject to the “third-strike” rule, meaning he must serve an immediate prison sentence.
He was jailed for 876 days, which comes to almost 29 months.