Homeless sex offender stole from charity supporting vulnerable people during coronavirus pandemic

Jeffery Burton (44) of no fixed address admitted thefts in Wisbech amounting to more than £11,000 and also failing to comply with notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register.

He was arrested on April 3 in connection with a break-in on March 27 at a charity for the homeless in Bridge Street – 50 Backpacks – whereby a window had been smashed to gain entry and £170 in cash was stolen.

Food items which were being put together to create parcels for vulnerable people in the community due to the Covid-19 crisis were also stolen.

DC Natalie Hines, from the Cambridgeshire police northern burglary team, said: “CCTV footage from the shelter was reviewed which identified the intruder as Jeffery Burton.”

The day after the 50 Backpacks break-in, D&S General Store in North Street, Wisbech, also had a window smashed to gain entry. This time the offender made off with £7,000 worth of cigarettes, cash from the till, a Nokia Lumia mobile phone and the store owner’s wallet.

Again, the offender was captured on CCTV committing the offence, as well as fingerprints being lifted from the scene by forensic officers.

At about 10.15pm on April 1, staff from Boots in Horsefair attended the store after an alarm was activated. They found a glass door had been smashed to gain entry and electric toothbrushes and hairdryers worth £1,003 were stolen.

The following day the Boots store was broken into for the second time. This time the offender made off with electric toothbrushes worth £700.

While CCTV footage was not clear enough to identify the offender, it was believed the same person was responsible for both burglaries.

The next afternoon, Burton was spotted in Horsefair by police officers and was arrested. On a search of him officers found an electric toothbrush which had the same serial number as one of the stolen items from Boots the previous two nights.

Burton had also been identified as being responsible for the theft of £2,500 worth of lead from a grade two listed property in Lynn Road between March 21 and 25.

The house had been derelict for a couple of years and had become inhabitable, however, new owners were in the process of restoring it to be a family home. On returning to work following the weekend, builders noticed lead missing from the roof, windows and doors of the property.

The owner was notified who reviewed private CCTV which showed a local homeless man who he knew to be Jeffery Burton.

He was charged with two counts of theft by finding, four counts of non-dwelling burglary and failing to comply with notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register.

Burton was placed on the Sex Offenders Register 25 years ago after being convicted of indecent assault. Part of the requirements of being on the register mean all offenders must register where they are living with police.

If they are homeless they must register this with police every seven days. He failed to do this, therefore breaching the requirements.

Burton admitted all of the offences he was charged with and appeared at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday), where he was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

DC Hines added: “Burton went on a crime spree, obtaining thousands of pounds worth of goods in a matter of days. Tackling burglary and bringing offenders to justice remains a priority for our force, therefore we urge members of the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to us, including the handling of stolen goods.”

Information can be passed on to police either by calling 101 or reporting online at www.cambs.police.uk/report.