A SELF-proclaimed ‘retired burglar’ from Rugby who snored and sang songs during his police interview has been jailed after trying to raid two homes in the town while families were sleeping inside.
Shortly after midnight on June 18 last year, 63-year-old Anthony Nicholson was caught on doorbell cameras attempting to try two front doors.
Both doors were locked and he was unable to enter the homes.
Nicholson, of Alfred Green Close, was identified when officers were shown doorbell footage, and was arrested five days later in Corporation Street.
During interview Nicholson, who has 47 previous convictions, was rude and disruptive.
He first claimed he had done nothing wrong and then that he did not know what he had done because he must have been drunk at the time of the offences.
Later in the interview Nicholson pretended to be asleep and snored loudly, before putting his fingers in his ears singing as officers tried to speak to him.
In the second interview Nicholson was shown CCTV footage of him trying two front doors, to which he responded that he had been looking for a party and had got the wrong address – twice.
When officers identified several flaws in that explanation, Nicholson once again put his fingers in his ears and began to sing.
At Warwick Crown Court, Nicholson was found guilty of two counts of attempt burglary with intent to steal.
And on February 9, he was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.
Det Cons Naughton, who led the investigation, said: “I welcome this sentence. Burglaries can leave families traumatised and feeling unsafe in their own home, and we take these crimes extremely seriously.
“I hope this serves as a lesson to those who would consider doing what Nicholson did – go to someone’s home with bad intent and you can expect us to do everything in our power to ensure you are presented to the courts.
“This case also highlights the great benefits of having doorbell cameras installed at your home.
“In this instance, the offender quickly abandoned his efforts at one door when he realised the homeowner’s doorbell camera had activated and was recording him.
“So not only do these cameras serve as a deterrent, they make it more likely that offenders will be identified quickly.”
