Burglar Preys on 95-Year-Old in Amble
David Ramsey, a 57-year-old burglar with 151 previous convictions, has been jailed for breaking into the home of a 95-year-old man in Amble, Northumberland, while the victim slept. The incident left the pensioner feeling frightened and preyed upon, according to a victim impact statement read at Newcastle Crown Court.
The elderly victim had gone to bed around 9pm on April 16, leaving the rear door of his bungalow closed but unlocked. He woke at 7am to discover he had been burgled. CCTV footage showed Ramsey outside the home around 1.40am, going through the victim's wallet. He took £250 in cash and several bank cards, which were later used fraudulently at shops in Blyth and Ashington.
Serial Offender Caught on Camera
Police identified Ramsey from the CCTV footage, and he was also captured on camera using the stolen cards at the shops. Ramsey, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to burglary and three counts of fraud by false representation. He was sentenced to 876 days in prison.
In a victim impact statement, the 95-year-old said: 'This incident has upset me and disturbed me. For someone to come into my house and enter my bedroom while I was sleeping is worrying, especially when thinking what would have happened if I had woken up with him in my room. I'm 95 years old and feel my vulnerabilities have been preyed on. I feel disturbed at the incident, which frightened me.'
Defence Cites Drug Addiction
Jonathan Cousins, defending, said: 'He has, unfortunately, made something of a mess of his life, which has been marred for a length of time by the misery of drug addiction. His acquisitive offending is entirely motivated by obtaining money to pay for illegal drugs. His history is one of going in and out of prison and being released without stable accommodation and returning to offending. He tells me it's 24 years since he has had his own stable accommodation that was his own property.'
At the end of the hearing, Ramsey told the court: 'Can I just say, I'm really sorry for what I've done.'
