BURGLAR IN WOMAN’S BEDROOM
Victim screamed – then fled in terror to call police
BURGLAR Troy Yeomans terrified a woman after breaking into her home as she slept in bed.
The woman heard a noise at 1.35am and presumed her brother must have finished work early.
She called his name but received no reply. Moments later her bedroom door was opened and she saw Yeomans.
She screamed for him to leave but he made no reply. The woman left her home and called the police.
Stoke-on-trent Crown Court heard she was hysterical when officers arrived. They found 29-year-old Yeomans inside the King Street property and watched him swallow some white tablets.
They discovered he had searched drawers and the main door was damaged.
Now Yeomans has been jailed for 14 months and 14 days.
Prosecutor Saleema Mahmood said the victim was at home in King Street, Newcastle, at 1.35am on February 23 when Yeomans broke in. After calling the police she waited outside for them.
“She was very scared,” said Miss Mahmood. “She did not know who he was or what he wanted in her property. Police arrived and described her as being hysterical, crying and shaking. There was a struggle as police tried to arrest and handcuff the defendant.”
Yeomans, of Copeland Street, Stoke, pleaded guilty to burglary.
The court heard Yeomans was subject to a 14-day suspended sentence he received a week before he committed this offence. Alex Barbour, mitigating, said his client has had problems with alcohol and drugs.
Yeomans has not previously served a long period in custody and the conditions at present are more onerous than usual due to the pandemic.
Judge Paul Glenn said: “This was a terrifying incident for the female householder in her 50s.
“She left her home in a blind panic and called the police. You were still inside when the police came. You locked yourself in the bathroom and took the complainant’s handbag in there with you.
“You left an unopened beer can in a bedroom. The aggravating factors are obvious, your previous record, you were subject to court orders at the time, it was at night when the victim was in bed and you were plainly under the influence of drink and/or drugs.”