Man living in fear after wallet stolen as he slept

A burglar who broke into an apartment block for older people and stole a man's wallet while he slept has been jailed for 19 months.

Kenneth Roberts also ransacked the office of a manager at the block for people aged 55 and over in Sunderland in the early hours of 26 June 2024, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The man whose wallet was stolen and bank card used at a petrol station by Roberts said he now lived in fear.

Roberts, 40 and of no fixed abode, admitted burglary, fraud and committing contempt of court after hurling "vile misogynistic abuse" at a female judge.

One of the residents of the 42-apartment block awoke on the morning of 26 June 2024 to find his wallet, containing bank cards and £90 in cash, had been stolen along with a jumper and a jar holding about £45 in coins, prosecutor Claire Anderson said.

A short while later, the man's bank card was used at a nearby petrol station while another transaction at a shop had been declined, the court heard.

The manager's office had also been raided with a window removed, items strewn around and a £500 computer and £25 bottle of alcohol taken, the court heard.

The intruder also stole tea, coffee and biscuits from the residents' communal kitchen, Ms Anderson said.

Roberts was identified by police on CCTV and told officers he could not really remember the burglary as he was "off his head" on drugs, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, the resident whose wallet was stolen said he was "living in fear" and felt "very unsafe", adding he was afraid the burglar may return.

The manager whose office was ransacked said Roberts had "no regard" for the personal items he went through or the fact the residents were "older people".

She said the "mindless burglary" could have had "dire consequences" if any of the residents had heard Roberts in the building.

The court heard Roberts had 85 offences on his criminal record including 14 burglaries.

Judge Tim Gittins said Roberts left his victims with "a sense of vulnerability and a significant loss of security".

Roberts, who had served previous jail terms for burglary, was jailed for 18 months for the Sunderland raid.

He was also jailed for a further month for contempt of court after launching a tirade of what Judge Gittins called "vile misogynistic abuse" at another judge at a previous Crown Court hearing.

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