James Dean, 45, from Birkenhead, was jailed for two years and eight months after burgling St Peter's Catholic Primary School in Noctorum, Wirral, and causing £10,000 worth of damage. He was found hiding under a hedge in a nearby garden with socks on his hands.
Burglary and Discovery
Merseyside Police were called to the school shortly before midnight on May 24 after a teacher who lives opposite was alerted by security alarms, Liverpool Crown Court heard. Dean was discovered hiding beneath a hedge in the garden of a nearby home while wearing socks on his hands.
Prosecutor Olivia Randell said Dean had items including the school's CCTV hard drive and two cash boxes beside him, with £652.16 in cash recovered. He confessed: "I'm nicked. I done it."
Damage and Impact
The main door of the school had to be replaced at a cost of more than £7,000 after being kicked. Dean caused £1,500 of damage to internal fire doors, and the CCTV system would cost around £1,000 to replace.
Judge Katherine Pierpoint said: "I have seen the body worn footage in this case. He started to say that he wasn't responsible, that he had found the items, that he had seen some other lads get off. He then started to shout abuse at members of staff who had obviously been alerted by the alarm, calling them grasses. When police said he was accused of stealing from children, his response was 'I don't give a f***'."
Previous Offences
Dean had earlier committed a spree of burglaries on April 5, targeting Sylvan Home Care Services, Gossip Coffee and Wine Bar, and Voltage bar on Allport Lane in Bromborough. No items were taken, but damage cost more than £4,000 to repair. He has 59 previous convictions for 127 offences, including more than a dozen burglaries.
Defending, Chris Macmaster said: "Mr Dean does not seek to excuse his behaviour. It is clear that Mr Dean has active diagnoses of depression, anxiety and ADHD and has a history of psychotic symptoms, including auditory hallucinations."
Sentencing
Dean pleaded guilty to one count of burglary and asked for three further burglary offences to be taken into account. Appearing via video link from HMP Liverpool, he was jailed for two years and eight months.
Judge Pierpoint said: "The total damage was nearly £10,000 of damage of a public building. You got into the office area, where you had taken two money boxes and also damaged the CCTV system and taken the hard drive with you. You made good your escape and hid in someone's garden, under a bush. You had socks on your hands, which shows some degree of planning because you did not want your fingerprints to be found."
