Serial Walsall burglar jailed after string of thefts
A serial burglar has been jailed for more than four years after admitting five break-ins – and asking for a further 26 crimes to be taken into account.
Drug addict James Kelly embarked on the crime spree over a period of more than three months after splitting from his wife, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
The court was told a friend who Kelly met in prison and had nowhere to go had moved in with the couple.
But the friend had an affair with his wife – and Kelly left his home, took up his old drug habit and started raiding homes.
Kelly pleaded guilty to five house burglaries, all around the Walsall area, during the hearing before asking for other matters to also be considered.
These included 23 burglaries, one attempted burglary and two counts of handling stolen goods. Kelly, 33, of no fixed abode, was jailed for 52 months.
The court was told many of the items from the five house burglaries, mainly jewellery and electronics, had been recovered after Kelly himself took police to the shops where he had sold them.
He targeted addresses in Borsty Lane, Aldridge, Kings Road, Linley Road and Penmore Grove, all Rushall and The Drive, in Walsall, during November and December last year.
The items taken totalled more than £7,000 and included a laptop, jewellery and an Xbox games console.
But while the majority of these were recovered the court heard items taken during the other crimes he asked to be taken into account, totalling around £18,000, had not been. Only around £1,000 of the items taken have been recovered.
No further details of the 26 offences were given in court.
Mr Howard Searle, prosecuting, said: "Kelly was arrested on December 3, not far away from where one of these burglaries had taken place.
"Officers found he had £423 on him. In interview he made multiple admissions and expressed remorse for what he had done.
"This has continued and he has taken police around shops where he sold items and also to addresses which he burgled."
Mr Christopher O'Gorman, defending, said: "He has a long-term addiction to class A drugs. A friend who had completed his prison sentence and had nowhere to live was invited to move in with Kelly and his wife.
"He repaid this kindness by embarking on an affair with my client's wife and it was Kelly who found himself having to leave his home.
"He wants to make a fresh start and has already looked into an intensive programme to get him off drugs during his imprisonment."
