Bedford burglar jailed after fibres from his jeans were found on garden gate
He has been jailed over two incidents in Kempston
A burglar from Bedford has been jailed for almost five years, after getting caught when fibres from his jeans were found on a garden gate.
Peter Smith, aged 38, of Prebend Street in Bedford, was jailed over two incidents in Kempston in August last year.
A man was at his home in Springfield Avenue on 13 August when he heard a man attempting to break in through the side door of the property.
He called the police and alerted Smith, who ran away from the scene.
Officers found Smith in Chanty Road in Kempston, but when they tried to speak to him, he ran off and tried to jump over a fence before being arrested.
An investigation at the victim’s address found damage had been done to the door which matched a claw hammer found near where Smith's arrest took place.
Strands of material matching Smith’s jeans were found on the garden gate, further linking him to the break in, while he was also identified from CCTV footage.
Smith’s DNA was also found at a nearby address, in Elstow Road, which was burgled only a week before.
In this incident a large amount of high value jewellery was stolen while the victim was out.
Smith pleaded guilty to both burglary and attempted burglary at Luton Crown Court on Friday (6 August).
He received a sentence of four years and nine months for the burglary and three years and nine months for the attempted burglary, which will run at the same time.
Detective Constable Andy Boston, who led the investigation, said:
“Smith has targeted a number of properties in Kempston for personal gain.
“He initially denied any responsibility for any of the incidents and, even when challenged with DNA and CCTV evidence, refused to admit his guilt.
“Smith will spend a lengthy time behind bars where he can’t cause any more misery within our communities.
“As this case shows – we have a range of tactics and techniques at our disposal to catch the burglars blighting Bedfordshire and bring them to justice.”