Life of drug-addled burglar who targeted homes and cars on Leeds street described as a 'depressing picture'
He spent a night trying door handles of homes and cars
A balaclava-wearing drug addict who spent a night on a Leeds street looking for items to steal has been told to “sort” his life out while in jail.
Lee Norton was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court this week for a string of thefts and attempted burglaries, as he wandered around trying door handles.
Norton, who has more than 100 offences on his record, was told by Judge Andrew Stubbs KC: “The trouble you have with drugs and the crime you have to commit to pay for those drugs is an upsetting and depressing picture.
“You have got the chance now to try and sort out the addiction you have got.
“There’s only one sentence I can pass today, I have no choice.”
The court heard that Norton broke into a property in the middle of the night on May 5 in Beeston as the family slept. He stole a nail gun and car keys, but did not take the Audi parked outside.
Prosecutor Richard Canning said the 32-year-old then began to target homes on Willans Avenue in Rothwell, snooping around the street in the early hours looking for opportunities to steal while wearing a face covering.
He tried the door handle to one home, but then switched his attention to parked cars.
He was able to find several unlocked vehicles, taking children’s scooters, sunglasses, gift vouchers and in one car, a wallet containing a bank card that he later fraudulently used at a shop a short distance away, spending £50.
Having been arrested, he admitted burglary, attempted burglary, four thefts, and one offence of fraud. He also admitted refusing to provide a sample for analysis and three for interfering with vehicles.
Norton, of no fixed address, has 56 convictions for 106 offences, including multiple thefts and burglaries. He is a “third-strike” burglar, meaning it was his third dwelling burglary and faced a mandatory three-year sentence.
Mitigating, Lily Wildman said Norton had been “in and out of prison since the age of 14”.
She added: “He is in somewhat of a cycle of being released from relatively short sentences without accommodation, turning to drugs which have been a source of dependency for a number of years.
“He knows he is fully in the wrong. He is not trying to provide any excuse for his actions.”
She said he was now on a methadone prescription to combat his heroin addiction.
Taking his guilty pleas into account and affording him the appropriate credit, Judge Stubbs jailed him for 876 days, which is a little over 29 months.