A pair of burglars ‘f***ed up big time’ when they crept into a family home and stole two mountain bikes after the front door was inadvertently left unlocked following a pizza delivery.
Jonathan Rogers and Gary Skerritt sneaked into the property to steal a Muddy Fox and a Carrera Vengeance mountain bike before fleeing the house in Thornaby.
The mother-of-four, who was in the house with three of her young children at the time, called out when she heard the front door slam closed before heading downstairs to find both bikes missing.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the woman’s brother and a male accomplice managed to track down the suspects and retrieve the stole cycles before one of the accused admitted ‘I f***ed up big style’.
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Anthony Pettengell, prosecuting, said the pair were known to the victim who told police she would not have just let them into her home on St Paul’s Road without permission.
The court heard how Rogers, who had 52 convictions for 118 offences on his record, including ones for burglary, was in breach of a suspended sentence at the time of the offence.
And Skerritt, who had 27 convictions for 64 offences, was also in breach of court orders at the time of the burglary.
Rogers, 41, and 38-year-old Skerritt, both of Stainsby Street, Thornaby, admitted the burglary on July 29 this year at the first opportunity. Skerritt also pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis which was found on him during a police search following his arrest.
Paul Abrahams, representing Skerritt, said his client had a background of mental health and drug addiction problems but accepted he was facing immediate custody.
While Gary Wood, on behalf of Rogers, said his client had been addicted to drugs since the age of 15 and was still struggling with his addiction before urging the judge to show him leniency.
Judge Jonathan Carroll confirmed that the pair they had ‘f***ed up big style’ when they committed the burglary when they found the door unlocked.
He said: “That left the opportunity for you two thieves, nothing more and nothing less, made worse by the fact that you actually know her.
“Not only were you thieving within your local community; you were thieving from somebody you knew.”
Rogers was locked up for a total of 25 months and his co-accused, Skerritt, was jailed for 16 months.
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