JAILED: Crook stole from his own grandfather and 93-year-old dementia sufferer
A 'mean and nasty' criminal, who stole from his own grandfather, was starting a jail sentence of three years and eight months today.
Chris Roberts also took property from the home of a 93-year-old dementia sufferer he had befriended, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
The 31-year-old drug addict had stolen from family members before and was only allowed to live in a tent in the garden of his grandfather Ronald after being freed from jail, explained Mr Philip Beardwell, prosecuting.
Mr Roberts, who allowed his grandson into his Bloxwich home to wash and eat, also took the precaution of keeping valuables under lock and key in his bedroom.
But the serial thief, with previous convictions involving 36 separate offences, managed to get through the security on November 29 to take £40 from a wallet kept in a bedside table drawer lower.
His girlfriend Gemma Davis, 30, who once stole from residents at the care home where she worked, knew of his plans to steal from the grandfather, continued Mr Beardwell.
The prosecutor added: "The defendant managed to get hold of the key for the padlock. Mr Roberts had supported his grandson for years and told police afterwards: 'I can't take this any more. Chris and Gemma are no longer welcome at my home.'"
Almost a month earlier Roberts had stolen from the nearby home of the elderly dementia sufferer whom he had deliberately befriended, the court heard.
The man's daughter, who had became suspicious about the amount of time the defendant spent with the man, noticed that property was disappearing from the address.
She secretly installed a CCTV camera at the house which filmed Roberts combing cupboards and drawers on October 27, taking a Kindle e-reader, £17 cash and some food while she was out.
Mr Beardwell concluded: "She was particularly upset to see how confused the victim looked while the thefts were taking place."
Mr Christopher O'Gorman, defending Roberts, of no fixed address, conceded: "These were nasty and mean offences. He has a long term addiction to drugs that led him to steal from members of his family in the past."
Miss Jodie Smith, representing Davis, said: "She knows she has behaved in a woeful way."
Davis from Abbots Place, Blakenall pleaded guilty to theft from the home of the grandfather and was jailed for nine months.
Roberts admitted burgling the bedroom and stealing from the 93-year-old neighbour's home.
Judge Amjad Nawaz told him: "You clearly have a predilection for abusing elderly people through dishonesty."
