Judge ticks off star over net boast
JOHN Terry made a ‘mistake’ boasting online about being on holiday, a judge said yesterday as she jailed for more than 27 years burglars who raided his home.
Judge Susan Tapping said the photo of the footballer and his wife Toni on a ski-ing break had alerted the gang that he was away.
The thieves headed to his £5million Surrey mansion to steal a £400,000 haul including handbags, jewellery and a set of signed first edition Harry Potter books.
The raid was one of seven across the Home Counties by the five-man gang which targeted the homes of wealthy individuals.
Police said all those involved were career criminals with convictions stretching back up to 12 years for similar break-ins. Several were on licence and being monitored after being freed from jail.
Judge Tapping said all the victims suffered ‘mental turmoil’ and should have the right to feel safe in their homes.
She added: ‘Four of the defendants together with others unidentified set out on a series of carefully planned burglaries. it was a very successful campaign and during seven burglaries, £600,000 worth of luxury items were stolen.’
On the raid on Terry’s home, the judge added: ‘it might have been a mistake to post a family photograph on social media to show he was away on holiday.
‘As a result his home was deliberately targeted and the master bedroom suite was ransacked.’
When the gang returned with another man and an angle grinder to try to get into a safe, the noise woke a housekeeper and triggered an alarm.
Former england captain Terry was on holiday in the French Alps when his Oxshott home was raided in February, Kingston Crown Court heard.
He had told his 3.4million instagram followers he was having a ‘great few days away’.
roy Head, 28, Darren eastaugh, 30, Joshua Sumer, 27, and Oliver Hart, 25, admitted conspiracy to commit burglary between February 1 and March 27, and were jailed for a total of 27 years and 11 months.
A fifth man admitted handling some of the stolen goods and a sixth remains on the run.
Head, of Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, was jailed for seven years and four months after the judge was told he was involved in six of the burglaries. The others were jailed for up to eight years each.
‘As a result his home was deliberately targeted’