Burglar jailed after raid on care home in lockdown
A BURGLAR forced his way into a residential care home during the coronavrius lockdown and was prowling around the building until being challenged by staff, a court has heard.
Julian Willock rifled through staff lockers and stole groceries from the kitchen – as well as taking a face mask, gloves, and bottles of hand sanitiser.
He then went on to burgle a neighbouring day centre for people with disabilities.
Sending him to prison, a judge said the defendant’s behaviour had put the elderly residents of the home at risk.
Swansea Crown Court heard Willock’s spree of offending began in the early hours of May 4 when he broke into a Toyota car parked on Greenway Street in Llanelli.
Sophie Hill, prosecuting, said the defendant took a satnav system, a pair of binoculars, and some loose change from the vehicle before walking to the nearby Caemaen residential care home.
Once at the home Willock forced entry – most likely via a rear door – and began searching the building.
The court heard he was discovered at around 6am when a member of staff doing paperwork heard a noise coming from the home’s dining room, and went to investigate.
Miss Hill said when challenged by the employee 31-year-old Willock, who was carrying two carrier bags full of items, said he was there to see his grandmother, “Valerie” – he was told there was no resident of that name living there, and asked to leave.
The court heard Willock did leave, but only went as far as the next door Coleshill centre, a daycare facility for vulnerable and disabled adults, which he also forced entry to.
However, in so doing he tripped the burglar alarm, and police were soon on the scene – officers saw the intruder through a glass panel when they arrived, and subsequently found him hiding in a toilet.
The prosecutor said checks by staff at the residential care home later revealed a string of missing items including one shoe, a necklace, stationery, a guitar amplifier, food, a face mask, sets of gloves, and bottles of hand sanitiser.
She said due to hygiene reasons in the current coronavirus situation, the groceries found in the defendant’s bags could not be returned to Caemaen.
When searched, Willock was found to be in possession of a small quantity of cannabis resin.
Willock, of Heol Gwyr, Llwynhendy, Llanelli, had previously pleaded guilty to theft from a vehicle, one count of dwelling burglary, one count of nondwelling burglary, and possession of cannabis when he appeared in the dock via videolink for sentencing.
The court heard he has 15 previous convictions for 24 offences including 16 for theft and kindred matters, and one for a house burglary.
James Hartson, for Willock, said the only real mitigation he could put forward on his client’s behalf was his early guilty pleas.
He said the burglary of the residential home had been “very unsophisticated” in nature, with the defendant randomly picking up items rather than, for example, targeting the store cupboards for personal protective equipment.
The barrister said Willock has “deep-seated mental health and bereavement issues” following the deaths of several members of his close family in a short period of time, and at the time of the burglary was heavily intoxicated with street Valium.
Judge Paul Thomas QC told Willock breaking into the home of vulnerable older people was a serious matter at any time – but even more so given the Covid-19 situation.
He said the defendant had had no way of knowing whether he had coronavirus or not when he went into the care home, touching handles and objects, and going through lockers and kitchen cupboards – something which had put the residents at substantial risk.
Giving the defendant a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, he sentenced him to a total of two years and six months – Willock will serve half that period in custody before being released on licence.