Burglar ‘doesn’t know’ what happened to pet crow Eddie
A BURGLAR accused of stealing a much-loved pet crow called Eddie during a break-in at a family home claims not to know where the bird is.
William Wallace has admitted committing the daytime burglary in Stoney Stanton, near Hinckley, but failed to shed any light on the pet’s whereabouts when he appeared in court.
Jewellery, cash, power tools and heirloom war medals were also among the stolen haul taken on Monday, January 11.
The distraught householder and animal lover, Michelle Johnson, immediately offered a reward for Eddie’s safe return.
Michelle hand-reared the oneyear-old crow back to health, after he was found injured and close to death as a tiny chick in a school playground in Burbage.
Unable to fly, he would happily hop about the home and became a much-loved addition to the household.
After the burglary, the door of Eddie’s cage was found open and he was gone.
Concerns about the crow’s welfare and inability to fend for himself in the wild resulted in the appeal.
Michelle told the Mercury: “Eddie was so tame and friendly, he liked people and would follow me around like a little dog.
“The burglars definitely took him, it’s absolute nonsense claiming not to know what happened.
“I arrived home 10 minutes after they left and Eddie was nowhere to be found. We looked everywhere and he couldn’t have got out of the garden.
“Eddie was popular in the village and children would stop to look at him when he was in his outdoor cage.
“Of an evening, he would sit on the sofa eating grapes and nuts and watch Coronation Street on the TV.
“I’ve upgraded the home security since this.
“I could have forgiven them stealing the possessions and money, but not my pet bird, I really want him back.”
A concerned villager also contacted the Mercury to say: “My husband and I used to stop and talk to Eddie, he was so tame and so loved.
“It’s absolutely disgusting he was stolen, pointless.”
On hearing about missing Eddie at Leicester Crown Court, Judge Nicholas Dean QC asked Wallace’s barrister, Adam Pearson: “Why didn’t he provide assistance in terms of the recovery of the family pet?”
Mr Pearson said: “I spoke to him about it and he doesn’t know what happened to the bird, it must have gone missing during the course of the burglary.
“He simply doesn’t know and can’t provide any assistance about what happened to the much-loved pet.”
The prosecutor, David Webster, said two burglars were seen on
CCTV footage emerging from a Nissan car and making their way to the premises, before returning carrying a bag.
Wallace, 47, formerly of Leicester Road, Market Harborough, was wearing a distinctive checked shirt at the time of the burglary and when the police tracked him down to an address in Stanley Road, near Leicester’s Victoria Park, he was wearing the same shirt.
Some items from the break-in were recovered inside the property and from a Nissan parked outside.
Mr Webster described the burglary victim as “shocked and saddened” by the loss of her pet.
In a personal impact statement, she said: “The pain these people caused me still hasn’t gone away.”
The court heard that Wallace has 73 previous offences on his criminal record, including five house burglaries and seven non-dwelling breakins.
In mitigation, Mr Pearson said the defendant had kept out of trouble for many years whilst a single parent raising four of his five children to adulthood.
However, he was jailed in 2009 for an offence of violence and introduced to heroin in prison, continuing to offend thereafter because of his addiction.
Mr Pearson said: “He’s disgusted by the effect of his behaviour on the victims, not only this victim, but also his family.”
Sentencing, Judge Dean said: “You embarked on a planned expedition to carry out a burglary and travelled from Leicester with another and there must have been some reconnaissance or intention to target a property.
“It involved the particularly cruel theft of a family pet crow whose loss to the family is deeply felt. It’s hard to overstate the impact of an offence of this nature.
“You indicate you don’t know what happened to that pet – whether that’s true or not, the effect has been heartfelt and considerable.
“Other items of real value and sentimental value were also stolen. You have a bad record of offending, utterly shameful.
“You’ve been given opportunities in the past by the court to rid yourself of addiction.”
Wallace, who appeared via a live video link from custody, was jailed for three years and nine months.