Drug addict crept into man’s home and stole wallet to fund his habit
MAN CAUGHT AFTER USING BANK CARDS
A TROUBLED drug addict who once stole from a cancer victim has appeared back before the courts after sneaking into a man’s home and stealing his wallet.
Lee Conman crept into a flat in Beverley Road on April 26 to steal from the tenant’s bedroom while he was in the bathroom.
The 35-year-old then fled the scene before using his bank cards to make two cash transactions, with the victim only finding out about the theft following a call from his bank.
Prosecutor Philip Evans said: “His bank contacted him within an hour of this suspicious behaviour taking place and this led the complainant to contact the police.
“The defendant was identified through CCTV evidence as being the person who had used the bank card on these two occasions. Stills from that footage were circulated and an officer managed to put a name to his face.”
The court was told how Conman, of Westbourne Avenue, west Hull, used to lead a “respectable law-abiding life”.
He would take cannabis but this addiction to the Class C drug led to him coming into contact with much more lethal Class A substances.
Stephen Robinson, defending, said: “At a period when he was out of work, taking cannabis led to him dabbling with heroin and that is a drug you can’t dabble with and a full-blown addiction took a hold of him.
“The burglary was to fund his habit. He has made some progress in custody. He is stable on a methadone prescription and he has not taken any drugs in prison even though they are available.
“He has done courses in maths and English to the point where he is now actually a support worker [in prison] helping others. He has been doing what he can in prison to improve his lot.”
Conman, who appeared in Hull Crown Court on Wednesday via a video link, admitted the theft the day before he was due to be sentenced for another “sneak burglary” involving a woman's handbag.
Again, the defendant was caught after using the victim's bank cards and was jailed for ten months. However, he had to wait until September to be punished for this latest offence.
Mr Robinson said: “It’s a great pity that he was not dealt with for both of those offences and I can’t explain why that didn’t happen.”
Conman is no stranger to spells behind bars, having also been sentenced to a year in prison in August 2017 after stealing more than £10,000 in jewellery and cancer medication when he took a woman’s bag from a luggage rack on a Hull train.
CCTV from Hull Paragon showed him arrive on a bicycle with two bags before boarding the train. However, moments later, he feigned a change of heart and got off the train with his bags – and that of his victim.
Recorder Allison Hunter QC criticised Conman’s criminal record which she described as “unattractive” and “unhealthy”.
She said: “This is your second burglary dwelling but you have a number of commercial ones, too.
“Had this been your third residential burglary you would have been subjected to a minimum term of three years so perhaps you would like to bear that in mind and take advantage of the help you are being given in custody.”
Conman is already in the middle of a ten-month sentence but Recorder Hunter QC decided to add to his time behind bars.
He was jailed for an extra seven months at Hull Crown Court after admitting burglary and two counts of fraud.
“He has been doing what he can in prison to improve his lot Stephen Robinson, defending