A 90-year-old chased after and confronted a callous burglar in Asda who had snuck into his bungalow and taken off with his wallet just minutes earlier. The brave pensioner was left furious after intruder Nicholas Norton raided his bungalow and immediately got in his car in a determined bid to track down him down.
He spotted the thief heading into the supermarket and followed him in, before grabbing him by the "scruff of his neck" and punching him until he emptied his pockets. Hull Crown Court heard that the OAP wanted to make sure no other elderly people were targeted by the defendant and, despite his frailness, was intent on getting his wallet back.
Norton, 49, of no fixed address but who had previously been staying in a Hull hostel, admitted to the burglary and fraud after using one of the elderly man's bank cards on September 3. Rachel Scott, prosecuting, told the court that the victim had been in his Hull bungalow with the back door open due to the warm weather at roughly 3pm, Hull Live reports.
Norton walked into his back garden limping and said that he had fallen off his bicycle. "He asked for a damp cloth because his leg was bleeding," said Miss Scott.
"The complainant went and got him a cloth and, as he was standing at a sink, turned round and saw the defendant in his living room. The defendant took his wallet and ran out of the address.
"The complainant got into his car and drove around trying to find the defendant. He saw the defendant going into Asda so he went in after him. He caught the defendant with his bank card in his hand and a bottle of spirits in the other.
"He took hold of him and the defendant dropped the bottle, smashing it. The complainant was concerned about what he would do with the bottle so punched him on the chin. He then held the defendant by the scruff of his neck while the defendant emptied his pockets and returned the bank cards."
Norton had convictions for 80 previous offences, including 44 for theft. He had been given a one-year suspended prison sentence for domestic burglary in May 2008 and jailed for nine months in 2009, also for domestic burglary.
He was jailed for 876 days in March 2020 for domestic burglary and was on licence for that offence at the time of the incident involving the pensioner. Norton was a third-strike burglar for the second time.
Stephen Munro, mitigating, said that Norton pleaded guilty at an early stage and made admissions. The burglary was opportunist and not planned. He had suffered a drug problem.
Recorder Anthony Hawks told Norton that he accepted that the burglary was opportunist. He had to be given a significant prison sentence because of his previous convictions for burglary. Norton, who had been in custody, was jailed for three-and-a-half years.
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