A BUM-GLING criminal who was arrested after he broke into an unsuspecting family home was linked to an earlier car theft – because he had the keys hidden in his underwear.
Officers arrested Ricky Brooks in connection with a break-in at a house in the Coundon area of Coventry, West Midlands, after they recognised him from CCTV footage showed him running from the property in the early hours of September 3 last year clutching a stolen laptop.
The 29-year-old was arrested a few days later and, after being searched at a Coventry police station, was found to be hiding the car keys in his underpants.
Officers located the stolen Vauxhall Astra, which had been swiped on August 23, parked in a street near to where Brooks had be staying.
Appearing at Coventry Crown Court on January 17, the bungling burglar was jailed for three years after he admitted charges of burglary, handling stolen goods and theft of two drills from a hardware store.
Investigating officer, Detective Constable Pete Waterman, said: “Brooks sneaked into the Coundon home through an insecure window whilst the family were sleeping upstairs but he triggered the house alarm and fled with just a laptop.
“On being arrested he clearly thought the safest place to conceal a stolen car key was his nether regions but officers recovered the key which enquiries then linked to an Astra stolen 10 days earlier.
“Brooks denied the burglary, despite having watched the CCTV, but then changed his plea to guilty early on in the trial when the footage was played to the court which clearly showed him running from the address.
“As a jury had already been sworn in and the trial underway, the judge refused to give Brooks any credit for his guilty plea.
“In normal circumstances offenders can expect a third taken from any prison term for entering an early guilty plea as it saves time, money and the need for witnesses and victims to give evidence in court.”
Brooks was told his 18-month sentence for handling the stolen car key, six months for a further handling charge, plus three months for theft would run concurrently to the three-year burglary sentence.
