Man gets six years for bogus burglaries
A 33-year-old man has been locked up after police linked to him to bogus burglaries against three women in their nineties.
Christopher Roberts posed as a gardener, plumber and energy firm employee to gain entry into three pensioner's homes in Bloxwich.
The burglaries took place between January 17 and 24.
He came away empty-handed at two addresses, but stole a purse containing £80 from a 94-year-old, during a burglary on January 24.
Roberts had told the woman that he had been sent to read her gas and electricity meters.
His elderly victim had reported the incident to police and Roberts was arrested at an address in Bloxwich the following day.
Police discovered a fluorescent jacket and distinctive rucksack used to commit the offences.
Roberts was later taken to court where he admitted to the three burglaries, alongside a fourth, against a 24-year-old man with severe learning difficulties. His other two victims were women aged 94 and 92.
He was jailed for six years at Wolverhampton crown court on Monday.
Sergeant Stephen Davis from the high harm and vulnerability team in Bloxwich, said: “Roberts has no morals.
“Praise must go to the West Midlands Police staff member who spotted Roberts hanging around the homes of elderly people, looking shifty, and used her initiative to get a good look at him and then identify Roberts.
“We don’t believe he made off with anything more than a purse and perhaps some loose change. But the length of the prison term handed to him shows that the courts will take a tough stance against people who target the most vulnerable in our communities."
