A burglar who stole sit-on lawnmowers from a Cumbria farm and a County Durham address has avoided jail because he looks after five kids and 18 horses.
Anthony Price breached a suspended sentence order when he travelled to a farm in Alston with two accomplices and stole a lawnmower and a pressure washer from an outbuilding. A month earlier, Price had also stolen a sit-on lawnmower from an address in Ushaw Moor. But despite breaching the suspended sentence he received in 2020 for violently attacking his then-partner, the 47-year-old avoided being sent to jail because Durham Crown Court heard it would be "unjust" to do so.
Price, of Fountain Square, St Helen Auckland, Bishop Auckland, appeared at the court on Wednesday to be sentenced for taking a conveyance without consent and non-dwelling burglary. He had pleaded guilty to the charges at a previous hearing.
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Jennifer Coldham, prosecuting, said in November 2020, Price had been given a 15-month prison sentence, suspended for 24 months for a domestic violence offence. But a year later, on November 12, last year, he went to an address in Ushaw Moor and stole a man's sit-on lawnmower after it had been left unattended. When the man returned home, he discovered it had been taken and checked his CCTV, which showed Price and another man loading the lawnmower onto the back of a van and driving off.
When police went to Price's home, the lawnmower was sitting outside, but he claimed to have bought it from a scrap-man and said he was going to convert it so his children could play on it. But Price was at it again a month later on December 7, this time with two accomplices. The trio went to a farm in Alston, Cumbria, and stole a lawnmower and a pressure washer from an outbuilding. However, the owner received a notification from her CCTV footage and the incident was captured on camera.
Ms Coldham said that the stolen goods in both cases were returned to their rightful owners. The court heard that Price had 21 previous convictions for 40 offences, including burglary and theft. Ms Coldham said that on November 17, 2020, Price was given a suspended sentence for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, which was carried out against his then-partner.
Speaking of the domestic violence offence, Ms Coldham added: "His partner was asleep in bed and he attempted to strangle her by wrapping a blanket round her face. He then struck her to the face and dragged her off the bed by her hair. He then followed her down the stairs, picked up a beer bottle and threatened to hit her with it."
Rebecca Brown, defending, asked the court to steer away from activating the suspended sentence, saying Price pleaded guilty at an early opportunity and said he had been complying well with his suspended sentence order, which included attending appointments and programmes. She said Price is now tee-total and that the offences were unrelated to violence.
She said: "The defendant lives with his partner and five children and he has 18 horses. His family are reliant on his income, he has a roofing business. If he was sent to custody, it would have a detrimental impact on her and the children." Ms Brown said Price made a "foolish decision and is remorseful" and asked the court to give him a "final chance".
Sentencing Price, Recorder Jamie Hill QC said Ms Brown had "persuaded" him that it would not be in the interests of justice to activate the suspended sentence and that it would be "unjust". He handed Price a 12 month community order and ordered him to complete 100 hours unpaid work. He must also carry out 30 rehabilitation activity days and pay £150 compensation and £425 costs. The original suspended sentence remains in place.
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