Inmate on the run took keys to a 4x4 car from property
A PRISONER on the run from serving a life sentence burgled a home and stole a car.
Curtis Douglas was jailed for life in 2011 for wounding with intent. But the 35-year-old absconded from Sudbury Prison a year before he was due to come up for parole.
Within a few weeks the career criminal who has committed 70 offences, was struggling for money and smashed his way into a home, swiping the keys to a 4x4 which he drove off in.
The break-in left the residents living in fear while their children asked: ‘Will we be safe tonight?’, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
Douglas pleaded guilty to escaping lawful custody, burglary and theft of a motor-vehicle.
On Thursday, September 2, Recorder Penelope Stanistreetkeen sentenced him to two years and four months to run concurrent to his existing jail term.
Douglas was present for the 5.30am roll check at the category D men’s open prison on October 27 last year but by 11am he had vanished, prompting a public warning from police not to approach him.
He returned to Birmingham and raided a home on December 15. The homeowner woke up at 6.30am and noticed his front door broken, window smashed and his vehicle missing.
Fingerprints and blood left at the scene identified Douglas as the culprit but he was not found and arrested until June 18 this year.
Olivia Appleby, prosecuting, said the burglary victims were left “anxious and feeling in fear”, adding: “Their children remain apprehensive at bed time and ask: ‘Will we be safe tonight?’.”
Douglas, from Erdington, has 37 previous convictions for nearly twice the number of offences, including committing a number of burglaries before he had even reached the age of 15.
Will Harrington, defending, told the court Douglas fled jail out of concern for a relative who was in poor health at the time.
He said: “Had he stayed there, he might just have been coming up for parole in October or November this year. These actions have put that back for a considerable time.”
Recorder Stanistreet-keen told Douglas: “It was a very foolish decision that has had the effect of keeping you in custody for even longer. You only have yourself to blame.”