A prolific burglar will remain behind bars after he was linked to a spate of unsolved crimes using DNA analysis.
Robin Vasko, 33, of HMP Risley, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, alongside his former partner Jarmila Levayova, 29, of Cranborne Road, who plead guilty to one count of burglary.
Vasko was accused of four counts of burglary, relating to a string of burglaries spread over years, predominantly in student areas. He was caught after police linked his methods to several unsolved crimes, the Liverpool Echo reports.
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Graham Pickavance, prosecuting, detailed the latest string of offences. On July 19, 2019, landlord Stuart Woodcock visited his property on Cretan Road, Liverpool, which he rents to students, to find the key safe at the front of the house had been removed. The rooms had been ransacked but no students were living there so nothing was stolen in this case.
Vasko was linked to the offence when DNA analysis found his fingerprints on a bin bag that had been left in the house. On September 4, 2019, a student renting at 21 Cranborne Road, owned by Mayank Gupta, reported a break in, stating the bottom kitchen window had been broken and the kitchen door was open. Mattresses, the TV and other items were all stolen, amounting to more than £4,000.
Another torn open bin bag was found in one of the rooms, with Vasko’s fingerprints on it. On December 20, 2019, again on Cranborne Road, Mehdi Hassam was asleep in his home and was woken up by a bang, so checked his own house and saw everything was in order.
He then spotted a man across the road, located outside student flats at number 137, wearing a distinct orange jacket. The man ran and hid behind a nearby van, so Mr Hassam called the police at around 2am.
Police arrived at 137 Cranborne Road to find the rear gate open and the glass in the back door smashed. PC Holmes attended the scene and saw a man further up the road, bent over in front of the wall of number 21, and found the orange jacket nearby.
Vasko was arrested, and a blue bag was recovered close by containing a Bose speaker, a watch, an Apple iPad charger, and a PS4 and a controller, all of which had been stolen from the property. On May 29, 2021, Hollie Scott was in her home asleep on Russian Drive, L13, but was awoken by a smashing sound and found a downstairs window broken.
She could see a man in a car outside staring at her house, so called the police and reported that her television and Nintendo switch console had both been moved. At around 6.10am, she went downstairs again to find a man in her home, but he ran away as soon as he was spotted, dropping two controllers and a Nintendo as he fled.
She gave chase, and he shouted something in a foreign language. Police arrived and found a car outside the property registered to Vasko, as well as sandy footprints inside the kitchen, matching footprints outside in the footwell.
Relating to Levayova, on July 24, 2019, Iain Morley, the landlord of an Air B&B property on Woodcroft Road, L15, arrived at the address to find a lockbox outside had been removed from the wall and the key was missing. The back door was also unlocked and the key was missing, and a TV had been ripped off the wall and stolen.
A glass candle holder was not in its usual place, and after being tested, Levayova’s fingerprints were found on it. She was subsequently charged with the offence of burglary.
Vasko has an extensive history of theft and burglaries, and in September 2021, was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment for burglary and theft charges linked to this spree. He has 16 prior convictions, mostly for burglary and theft related crimes.
After this arrest, police began investigating other unsolved similar break-ins and used fingerprint analysis to link Vasko and Levayova to these further offences. Paul Becker, defending Vasko said: “He told me he has learnt his lesson, he is very sorry for the pain and anguish he has put his victims through.”
Levayova however only has two previous convictions dating back to 2018 for theft, shoplifting and resisting a constable, and Vasko was sentenced on the same date. Jonathan Keane, defending Levayova, said his client was somewhat coerced into getting involved in these crimes, and she poses no risk now that her relationship with Vasko has ended.
The pair were in a relationship for eight years and share a child together. Judge Recorder Kate Cornell said: “It is my feeling that there is an element of targeting here, they are all student properties targeted for that reason.”
She described the robberies as “a long, two year intermittent spree”, and said the most serious offense involved Hollie Scott as she was home and her two young children were also likely in the house. Addressing Levayova, she said: “You would not have acted that way had you been on your own.
“It seems clear that Mr Vasko was the source of much of your offending.” You have now left the relationship with Mr Vasko which it seems to be what lead you into offending in the first place.”
Vasko was sentenced to 25 months imprisonment to be served concurrently with his current sentence. Levayova was handed a community order for 12 months, and was told to undertake 15 days of rehabilitation activities and 100 hours of unpaid work.
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