A smirking burglar claimed he was 'too busy' in prison to attend court - but a judge jailed him anyway.
Daniel Matley, of Tameside smashed his way into an industrial unit to grab £150,000 worth of phones, watches and tablet computers, a court heard.
The convicted drug dealer and arsonist was caught red-handed after police followed a van driving the wrong way down a road after the raid on iOutlet at Estover in Devon, PlymouthLive reports.
Matley, 26, was remanded in custody at Forrest Bank and due for sentence at Plymouth Crown Court but refused to appear over a videolink from prison.
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His barrister told the judge that he had tried to speak to Matley over the link before the hearing at HMP Forest Bank near his native Manchester.
Nick Lewin said: "He is busy, we have tried. He was allowed out to exercise and when then the officer went out to collect him he said he was busy."
Judge William Mousley ruled that Matley had deliberately absented himself.
He added: "He is obviously a busy man. It may make him less busy if we deal with this."
The court heard that Matley had been recalled until June to serve the remainder of his last sentence, when he was jailed for arson and dealing cannabis in Manchester.
Judge Mousley handed him another 14-month prison sentence, to start immediately, for the burglary.
Matley, of Highfield Close, Tameside, pleaded guilty to burglary on January 30. He was pictured smirking in his police mugshot.
Katie Churcher, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said iOutlet was a two-storey unit with a workshop and offices which repurposed phones, tablets and watches.
She added that its contents were insured to the value of £250,000.
Miss Churcher said the premises were covered by CCTV cameras and alarms connected to the mobile phones of the directors.
She added that one of the bosses was alerted at about 6.15pm that Sunday and drove to the scene.
Miss Churcher said the director noticed a white van pulling away from the estate on Estover Road.
The barrister added that he passed the registration on to the police.
Miss Churcher continued that officers spotted the van in Forder Valley Road near the Leigham interchange on the A38.
She added that the van drove the wrong way around the roundabout before officers saw two men jump out and run into the woods near Delamere Road in Eggbuckland.
Miss Churcher said police using dogs found Matley hiding in a garden and equipment worth an estimated £150,000 was found in the back of the van.
The court heard that Matley had chalked up 14 offences.
He was jailed for four years in 2019 for arson and production of a Class B drug.
Matley was part of a cannabis gang which set fire to a series of homes in a bitter feud with rival dealers over the theft of a crop.
Mr Lewin said he had not seen the defendant.
He added that his client had insisted he had not entered the premises but took part in a joint enterprise with another man.
Mr Lewin said that Matley had pleaded guilty before magistrates and been released from custody.
He added that the defendant returned to his bail address and waited for the police to arrest him so he could serve the rest of his previous jail term.
