Pair caught using card they stole in home raid
OFFENDERS HID THEIR LOOT IN BIN AND DRAIN
A PAIR of prolific criminals hid sat navs behind a dust bin and bank cards in a drain after committing fraud.
Lewis Heighton, 35, and Paul Jefferson, 49, appeared at Teesside Crown Court to be sentenced after a home on Morland Fell, Redcar, was burgled.
Prosecutor Neil Jones said entry was gained through an unlocked door and several items including a bank card and ID were taken in the raid, on November 4, 2022.
He said: “The homeowner discovered a number of items missing from the property. She contacted her bank and found a transaction had taken place using her bank card at the service station on Trunk Road. “
Mr Jones said the pair spent £45.43 and were captured making the transaction on CCTV. “A community support officer had recently had dealings with both defendants and viewed the footage from a petrol station.
“She saw that the persons depicted were Heighton and Jefferson,” he said.
Further CCTV was handed in to police which showed the pair attempting to barter goods in a garden that morning and two hours later ,the same PCSO spotted the pair outside Asda and chased them but they fled.
Mr Jones said two days later a resident attended a Teesside police station and said property had been discarded in his garden.
The court heard he found sat navs and dashcams in a bag behind a dustbin and also found bank cards in his drain, together with a driving licence belonging to the burglary victim.
Heighton, of Saltersgill Avenue, Middlesbrough, and Jefferson of Harwal Road, Redcar, both pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods, fraud and two counts of theft.
The pair were previously charged with burglary but the charge was dropped.
In mitigation, Andrew Turton said drugs were Jefferson’s motivation and that he is remorseful for his actions.
Co-defendant Heighton, addressed the judge saying he was remorseful and apologised.
Heighton has 44 convictions for 103 offences and was handed an 18-month prison sentence and his co-defendant Jefferson - who has 75 convictions for 190 offences - and was sentenced to 17 months in prison.