A burglar who was involved in a Greggs ram-raid before going on to break into a home the next day was linked to the crimes by his footprints.
Liam Robert Facey was one of four burglars who took part in a ram-raid at the Greggs in Shotton Colliery Industrial Estate on January 9. The offenders smashed into the business after reversing a Land Rover into the building but only managed to take off with a charity box.
Almost exactly 24 hours later, Facey and another burglar were caught inside a home in County Durham and fled with jewellery when they were disturbed.
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On Monday, Facey, of Easington Lane, appeared at Durham Crown Court via link from HMP Holme House to be sentenced for two counts of burglary. The 23-year-old had admitted the offences.
The court heard that Facey was one of four burglars who ram-raided the Greggs at around 9pm on January 9 after a vehicle reversed into the premises. Martin Towers, prosecuting, said: "The shop had closed earlier and CCTV showed four people arriving in a Land Rover and forced entry.
"All that was taken was a charity box from the till area. CCTV showed that the offenders were there for three minutes." Mr Towers added that the value of the damage caused is currently not known.
A day later, at around 9pm on January 10, Facey and another burglar broke into a County Durham home whilst the homeowners were away on holiday. A woman noticed lights were on in the property on Station Road West in Coxhoe and saw a Land Rover parked up which had no registration plate.
The witness later returned to the address with others to check what was going on. Mr Towers said: "They disturbed two men who were in the process of committing the offence. One was wearing a balaclava and they ran past them and made their escape."
When the witnesses went into the home, they saw that jewellery had been stolen and a knife had been take from the kitchen and left in the bedroom.
Mr Towers added: "Later that evening there was a police chase involving the Land Rover. The defendant was later found attempting to hide. He was linked to the offences via footprint evidence."
The court heard Facey had 66 offences on his record, 23 of which were for theft. He was also on licence at the time of the burglaries.
Jane Waugh, defending, said the Greggs burglary was "not well planned" and he was inside the premises for around three minutes. She said: "There is little to say by way of mitigation, save for his guilty pleas. He'd done quite well when released form custody but he had taken a turn for the worse and he resorted to offending again.
"He appears to be doing well in prison and has a job as a cleaner. He is said to be doing a great job."
Sentencing Facey, Judge Jo Kidd jailed him for three-and-a-half years.
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