Burglar who picked on the wrong victim!
16st rugby player leaves him with a black eye
WHEN career criminal John Calvert decided to go on a burglary expedition, he no doubt hoped to emerge with some rich pickings.
But all he came away with was a black eye and bruises.
Calvert had clearly not done any research before embarking on his nefarious enterprise. Had he done so, he might have known that the property he was breaking into belonged to a 16st professional rugby player, Jon Magrin.
The burly Bradford Bulls prop forward, 22, confronted the intruder and the ensuing struggle was predictably one-sided.
Calvert, 23, managed to escape but was tracked down and arrested four days later – still sporting a huge shiner.
Jailing him for three years, Judge Jonathan Rose said it was the defendant’s ‘misfortune’ that his victim was a professional rugby league player.
Calvert and two accomplices broke into Mr Magrin’s apartment in Bradford city centre. One kept watch outside while Calvert took £500 in cash and another thief picked up a PlayStation, Bradford Crown Court heard. Prosecutor Dave MacKay said Mr Magrin saw Calvert coming out of his door as he arrived home. The rugby player punched the burglar in the face, which knocked him to the ground and provoked a violent struggle.
Mr MacKay said: ‘The defendant then tried to run away. Using his day-to-day playing skills, Mr Magrin rugby-tackled him to the floor.’
Recalling the break-in as he returned from training last November, Mr Magrin said: ‘I got out the car and saw one guy outside keeping watch. I ran straight in and saw the door had been kicked in. One guy was inside the flat trying to steal my PlayStation. He saw me and bottled it, throwing the PlayStation at my head.’
Mr Magrin said at first he had simply tried to restrain Calvert but grew angry as the burglar tried to fight back by attacking him with a screwdriver.
Calvert lost his phone and jacket in the struggle to break free. He was arrested four days later thanks to a DNA match.
Mr Magrin’s PlayStation was damaged and it cost £200 to repair his smashed-in door.
Ken Green, defending, told the court Calvert had discovered the body of his mother, who had committed suicide, and ‘ his head was all over the place’. However the judge said Calvert had made a living out of crime and was happy to use violence.
He added: ‘It’s extremely fortunate serious injury was not caused, because a screwdriver can be a potent weapon and you were prepared to use it.’
With previous burglary offences to Calvert’s name, the judge activated the ‘three-strike rule’ whereby he automatically received a three-year jail term.
At the Bulls’ training ground after the case, Mr Magrin said he was ‘pleased’ with the punishment handed to Calvert.