A CROOK who handled the proceeds of a raid on a pregnant woman’s home is behind bars for 16 months.
Drug addict David Connelly, who had just come out of jail, had even come into possession of the hospital bag victim Natasha Williams had packed for the imminent birth of her second child.
Connelly had got hold of the case, a haul of DVDs and a digital camera with which the victim intended to take pictures of her new baby within 24 hours of her home being attacked and ransacked, Burnley Crown Court heard.
He was rumbled after Miss Williams and her partner heard on the grapevine the defendant might have the loot and her partner saw him with some of it.
Connelly (26), of Napier Street, Nelson, had admitted handling stolen goods and had been committed for sentence by magistrates.
Miss Lisa Worsley (prosecuting) said Miss Williams had been to stay with her partner overnight and returned to her home to find it had been “trashed.” Among property taken were a lot of baby clothes.
She made inquiries in the area and got a text from a friend saying Connelly had asked her if she wanted to buy any DVDs. Miss Williams contacted her boyfriend Martin Smith and he came across the defendant carrying some DVDs in a bag. He asked the defendant if he was selling them and he said he was, opened the bag and showed him the DVDs.
Miss Worsley said Connelly claimed he had found the DVDs on a tip and then changed his story, saying he had been given them to sell by someone else. The defendant asked Martin Smith not to report him as he was on licence. Mr Smith escorted Connelly to a couple of houses and he came out carrying the camera and other stolen items. The defendant offered to recover more goods over the next hour, but didn’t return. He had 57 previous convictions.
Mr Philip Holden, for Connelly, said he did not know where the items came from, just that they were stolen.
His life had been blighted by alcohol and drugs. The barrister added: “He may well deserve to go to prison for this offence. He could not complain if that were the position today.”
Sentencing, Judge Graham Knowles said all the victim’s preparations for her new baby’s arrival had been wrecked. He told the hearing Connelly had a terrible record and the burglary had been wicked. The judge said “It’s almost impossible to imagine the distress and anxiety caused to the victim.
It is well known people do not burgle houses unless there are people like this defendant who are ready to take what they steal.”