OFF OUR STREETS
Gang who burgled pregnant woman as she slept
AGANG-OF-FOUR who burgled the house of a man and his pregnant partner and stole their car have been jailed.
Jordan Woodburn, Luke Entwistle, Aaron Marley Walsh and Cailen Kristopher Hackett targeted the property on Stanley Street in Accrington while the victims were sleeping.
Prosecutor Haseeb Yousaf told Burnley Crown Court that victim Callum Hartley and his partner had gone to bed at 10pm on June 20 last year and discovered their Vauxhall Astra was missing after getting up the next morning.
The court was told that Mr Hartley had parked the car on nearby Essex Street and the keys had been stolen from inside the house.
Mr Yousaf said: “A living room window had been left open and was used as an entry point for the burglars during the burglary.”
The court heard that his partner’s handbag containing medication, Mr Hartley’s wallet and £10 in cash had also been stolen.
The four defendants were identified after police examined local CCTV, the court heard.
Mr Yousaf said it showed two males initially trying to open the front door and then entering through the open living room window.
A short time later the Astra was seen driving away and was recovered on June 26 at a car park in Clayton-le-Moors with stolen licence plates.
Walsh, of Spring Street, Rishton was arrested on June 27 and gave a ‘no comment’ police interview.
The 21-year-old has 26 convictions for 46 offences, including two house burglaries, and is classed as a ‘third-strike burglar’.
Woodburn, 20, of Lower Barnes Street, Clayton-le-Moors, told officers ‘I have not done anything’ when they arrested him at his home on June 30.
The court was told Woodburn, who has two previous convictions for 11 offences, was on post-sentence supervision at the time of committing the burglary.
‘Third-strike burglar’ Entwistle, 25, also of Lower Barnes Street, tried to evade from police when they came to his home to arrest him.
He eventually surren- dered after being threatened with a taser.
When officers found a small quantity of cannabis on him Entwistle, who has 30 convictions for 74 offences, responded ‘personal use mate’.
The court was told how Hackett, 22, was interviewed at Preston Prison and denied the offences.
Hackett, who has 13 convictions for 29 offences, was also subject to post-sentence supervision at the time of the burglary.
All four defendants pleaded guilty to burglary and Entwistle also admitted a charge of cannabis possession.
Judge Jonathan Gibson jailed Walsh and Entwistle for 34 months each, Hackett for 27 months and sentenced Woodburn to 22 months in a young offenders institute.