BURGLAR CAUGHT OUT BY SHOPPING SPREE AT

DRUG ADDICT AROUSED SUSPICION AS HE FLASHED CASH AFTER RAID

A BURGLAR who stole more than £4,000 in a house break-in was caught out soon after as he went on a spending spree in a branch of JD Sports, writes Suzy Gibson.

Leon Raynor, of Leicester, broke into the home of a shop owner while visiting Skegness, stealing £4,400 in takings which she had taken home.

However, when she asked fellow shop owners and staff to be on the lookout for anyone spending suspicious amounts of cash, she struck lucky when Raynor, a 43-year-old drug addict and prolific burglar, did just that in JD Sports the next day.

Raynor, pictured, was followed and confronted by a group of vigilantes, and called police himself alleging that he had been assaulted. Raynor was arrested for the burglary, but released on bail.

Within 24 hours he was back in Leicestershire, breaking into a house in Glenfield, when £4,000 worth of jewellery was stolen.

The prosecutor said Raynor left blood at both crime scenes.

The following month he was caught at the wheel of a stolen car in Birmingham, which was driven dangerously. A police officer spotted the vehicle outside a Tesco store and blocked the exit, only for Raynor to ram into the police car.

A BURGLAR was followed home and beaten up by vigilantes in revenge for stealing more than £4,000 from a shop owner’s home.

The victim had taken home her business takings overnight and put the cash in her handbag.

But Leon Raynor, formerly of Leicester, broke in to the woman’s Skegness address on Wednesday, April 21, as she and her husband slept upstairs, taking the handbag containing £4,400 and car keys.

The distraught victim made her own inquiries and asked shops to notify her if suspicions were raised by anyone appearing to be spending lots of cash.

Her efforts paid off when that is exactly what 43-year-old Raynor, a drug addict and prolific burglar, did at the seaside resort’s JD Sports store, in Hildred’s Shopping Centre, the next day.

Leicester Crown Court was told Raynor was then followed from the sports shop to his mother’s home in the town and confronted. Raynor himself called the police. James Bide-Thomas, prosecuting, said: “People attended outside to vent their dissatisfaction about what he’d done.

“The police received a call from the defendant, reporting he had been assaulted.

“He received some injuries multiple bruises and abrasions.”

Raynor was arrested for the burglary, but released on bail.

Within 24 hours was back in Leicestershire, breaking into a house in Ilmington Close, Glenfield, when £4,000 worth of jewellery was stolen. The home owner was away at the time.

The prosecutor said Raynor left blood at the scenes of both breakins which matched his DNA.

On Sunday, May 9, Raynor was seen in Birmingham, at the wheel of a VW Passat that had been reported stolen a few days earlier.

A police officer spotted the vehicle outside a Tesco store and blocked the car’s exit.

Mr Bide-Thomas said: “The defendant rammed the police car, causing £2,000 worth of damage to it, before reversing and colliding with another vehicle, causing further damage.”

Raynor, who appeared in court via a live video link from prison, admitted both burglaries and aggravated vehicle taking of the VW Passat, which was driven dangerously.

The court heard that Raynor’s criminal record included 20 house burglaries.

He was on early release licence from jail at the time of his latest offences, but was swiftly recalled to prison.

Recorder Patrick Upward QC said the burglaries caused “serious loss” to the home owners.

The handbag and set of car keys taken during the Skegness house burglary were recovered, although the money was never recovered, nor was the jewellery from the Glenfield break-in.

Gareth James, mitigating for Raynor, said: “The defendant has a long-term addiction to crackcocaine and struggled to cope with that. He has an unfortunate record of acquisitive crime to fund it.

“He very much regrets becoming involved in crime again.

“He’d travelled to Skegness to visit his mother who lived there, following the difficulties of lockdown, and it was the first time he’d seen his mother since it began.

“Sadly in the intervening period his mother has died, which causes him deep regret. He realises he will be sentenced harshly.”