Man jailed after he stole jar of coins from friend’s house
A MAN who burgled a friend’s house and stole a jar of coins has been jailed for 15 months.
Kelvin Richard Williams, 47, of Barlwyd Terrace, Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog admitted the charge when he appeared from custody at Caernarfon Crown Court.
Jailing him Judge Huw Rees described the theft as a “particularly mean offence”. He said the jar contained between £80 and £100 and represented the man’s savings.
Williams also admitted charges of producing cannabis and abstracting electricity.
Prosecutor Richard Edwards said Williams had visited the home of Christopher Page in Newborough Street during the afternoon of January 19 and had been welcomed.
“Mr Page left for work at 5.30pm leaving the property locked and secured. During the early hours, about 4.45am, a neighbour heard the sound of breaking glass and later smelt burning,” the lawyer said.
Mr Page, he added, was alerted at about 6am to a fire in the property and when he arrived emergency services were still at the scene. Mr Edwards said consideration had been given to charging Williams with arson but a decision not to do so had been taken.
“Blood was found on the window and inside the property and this matched the defendant’s DNA.
“When officers visited Williams’ home they found 24 cannabis at various stages of growth in a bedroom. The set up was unsophisticated and experts valued the crop at between £336 and £1,000.
“Officers also found the electricity supply had crudely bypassed the meter with live wires protruding. The meter showed a debt of about £750.
“Although the defendant denied the matter initially ultimately there were guilty pleas,” he said.
Maria Maselis, defending, said her client accepted custody was likely and accepted it was an unpleasant offence.
She said Williams was growing the drugs for his own use and did not intend to supply others.
“Drugs have been the underlying theme in his life. He has battled addiction at various times for more than 30 years,” she added.