Burglars used local knowledge to steal from bungalows they …

Two brazen burglars broke into houses on the same street during broad daylight. Brenden Mathers, of Church Fields Road in Woking, and Mark Morgan, of River Street in Rhyl, both admitted to committing burglaries along Highbury Avenue in Prestatyn [1]. David Mainstone, prosecuting, told Mold [2] Crown Court that the men had set their sights on the bungalows in July 2022 when a resident who had been working from home heard a "bang" and alarm "blaring" just before 10.30am.

He saw one of the men climbing through a broken window of a property and passing items to his accomplice and alerted North Wales Police [3]. Police arrived a short while later and Morgan, 43, came out of the property first, telling the two officers that Mathers, 33, was inside. Both were arrested, the court was told.

Morgan was searched and had picked up a gold-coloured watch and badge which were identified by the homeowner as stolen from inside. There had also been several items placed outside the property including a model truck, Samsung camera and tools. The police identified an orange Transit van parked nearby that belonged to Morgan but was insured by Mathers.

Inside, the police found a number of items from another property on the street including power tools, hair clippers, four bank cards and a National Savings Account book which were identified by another homeowner as being stolen from his property. Mathers was interviewed but declined to answer any questions. Morgan, however, did speak to the cops.

He said that the men had been driving past the property which he claimed already had a broken window. The defendant said that he used to live in the property so decided to have a look around not five minutes before the police arrived.

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Defending barristers Simon Kileen, for Mathers, and Dafydd Roberts, for Morgan, offered no mitigation. This was after the judge indicated he had seen reports prepared for each of the men by the probation service and intended to follow their recommendations. Judge Niclas Parry believed the public would benefit more if the two men in his court were rehabilitated as opposed to a short stint in prison.

He suspended their one year custodial sentences for the next year and ordered they complete 200 hours of unpaid work. He said: "This took local knowledge. You made a conscious decision to target properties you knew were vulnerable.

"Pre-planned, you took a car there and it was so easy you went back.

I give you both credit for your guilty pleas, there was limited damage and you gained little from this."

References

^ Prestatyn (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^ Mold (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^ North Wales Police (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^ A55 stretch shut for five hours after lorry crash causes major fuel spillage (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^ here (www.facebook.com)