Face-hiding would-be Leeds burglar identified by his arm tattoos on doorbell cameras
A would-be burglar who tried to hide his face with his T-shirt as he tried door handles, exposed his arms and was later identified by his tattoos.
Tyler Dean - previously known as Lee Cross - targeted two homes in Belle Isle in the space of a few minutes, but both front doors were locked.
He was caught on doorbell cameras at both properties.
The 38-year-old was spared immediate custody at Leeds Crown Court this week after admitting two attempted dwelling burglaries.
The court was told he was drunk and high on cocaine when he went to the first property on East Grange Close close to midnight on March 27.
It was not until the next morning did the female resident receive a notification about somebody coming to her front door.
Footage showed Dean approach, use his T-shirt to cover his hand and try the door handle, so as not to leave fingerprints.
He then noticed the camera so removed the device.
Minutes later he approached the second home on nearby East Grange Rise, but this time noticed the doorbell camera.
He used his T-shirt to cover both his face and his hand again while trying the door, before walking away, but not before trying to the door handle of a car parked outside.
The footage was circulated on Facebook and he was identified because of the tattoos. Dean was arrested on April 10 but gave a no-comment interview to officers.
Dean, of now of Sherbourne Avenue, Ryde, Isle of Wight, has six previous convictions for 16 offences including burglary and multiple assaults on emergency workers.
No mitigation was offered by his barrister after Judge Robin Mairs said he would not lock him up.
He told him that had he got into the homes, it could have been “terrifying” for the female lone occupants.
He said of the burglary attempts: “They would not have happened had you not got blind drunk and taken cocaine.
“If it happens again you will be back before the courts and it will have to be custody.”
He gave him an 18-month sentence, suspended for 24 months, as well as 15 rehabilitation days and a 90-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement.