Teen car key burglar jailed after stealing £10k Audi

Damilola Johnson stole a £10,000 Audi A4 from the driveway of an address in Ridgefield Road, Halesowen, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

The 18-year-old from Cradley Heath got into the house in the middle of the night through an insecure rear window and took the ignition key from the living room, revealed Mr Nicholas Smith, prosecuting.

By chance the occupant went to the bathroom soon afterwards and watched in horror as the engine and headlights of his car were suddenly switched on.

He ran downstairs as the vehicle left the driveway and discovered that a back door had been left wide open by the burglar.

Johnson's fingerprint was found by forensic experts on the frame of the window where the break in took place on June 21.

Five days later a man living in a semi detached house in Yew Tree Road, Kidderminster was woken by the noise outside and looked out of the window at the house to find Johnson staring back at him from the other side of the glass.

Police were called and found the defendant, who they recognised from a description of the burglar's clothing, in nearby Station Hill.

He tried to run away but was quickly caught, questioned and freed on bail pending further inquiries.

His fingerprint was later found at the targeted property by police officers.

Then on July 7 the defendant broke into a house in Pensnett Road, Brierley Hill at 1.15am and two women living there heard a door being closed downstairs, continued Mr Smith during the court case.

They looked down from the landing, saw a light had been turned down and shouted a warning that they were about to call the police.

Johnson, who was trying to steal a BMW from the property, fled with the keys to a Ford Fiesta instead that was also parked at the address and then sped off in the car before police arrived.

After a brief search an officer found him hiding in a nearby shed but received bad bruising when pushed to the ground as the defendant tried to escape before he was detained by other officers.

Mr Simon Burch, defending, said the teenager was desperate for money to pay off a drug debt and added: "He was coming under considerable pressure from the person who was owed the money."

Johnson, from Sidaway Street who had previous convictions for shoplifting and possession of a bladed article, admitted two burglaries, an attempted burglary and assault and was sent to a Young Offenders Institution for 27 months.

Judge Marcus Tregilgas-Davey told him: "You are becoming a dishonest young man."