Sandwich eating burglar jailed after home break-ins

A burglar has been jailed after police found him eating a sandwich in a flat he had broken into.

Officers attended the property in Gregory Boulevard, Nottingham, around 5.30pm on 23 November last year after a couple reported a trespasser inside their home.

They had come face to face with Costin Stan on their upstairs landing. He asked for food and denied that he had broken into the flat in order to steal.

Bodyworn video captured Stan's arrest

The 33-year-old was given a sandwich but the couple, who were at home with their children, then noticed jewellery had been taken from a bedroom drawer.

Officers arrived quickly and found Stan sat in the kitchen eating a sandwich.

They discovered the missing jewellery in his pockets during searches and Stan was arrested for burglary.

Investigations revealed he was also responsible for a break-in at another address, in Norton Street, Radford, 10 days earlier.

The homeowners had awoken to discover their flat had been ransacked while they slept.

A host of items, including mobile phones, hair straighteners, wallets and clothing were missing, and the flat had been untidily searched.

Stan’s fingerprints were found on property when forensic investigators attended the scene.

Stan, of HMP Moorland, pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary.

At Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (25 February) he was jailed for a total of two years and eight months.

Investigator Bethany Harding, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:

“The victims in both these burglaries were at home when Stan broke into their property in order to steal.

“The unusual nature of his arrest should not take away from the seriousness of his offending.

“Burglary is an invasive crime which can have a lasting and profound impact on any victim.

“Officers worked hard to ensure he had no choice but to admit both these offences and I’m pleased he has now been handed a custodial sentence.”