Burglar who stole £11k of property gets three years

A burglar is starting a jail sentence after stealing £11,000 worth of valuables and leaving two Staffordshire families terrified in their own home.

Romanian national Domitru Marinescu, aged 22, ransacked two homes in Stafford in one night before targeting a house in Crewe.

Marinescu, of Grasmere Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, admitted three charges of burglary and was jailed for three years yesterday. Judge Simon Tonking told him his victims were "terrified" by the crimes.

Stafford Crown Court heard that pensioner Maureen Grocott lost "a myriad of cherished items" worth around £10,000 when her bungalow in Crab Lane, Stafford, was broken into.

Mr Pat Sullivan, prosecuting, said that on the same night, January 23, Janet Lawton and her 10-year-old daughter returned to their home in Stone Road to find the patio doors forced open and property worth a total of more than £1,200 missing.

He said Marinescu had been traced through his DNA found on screwdrivers used in the Stafford burglaries and left at the scene, plus a speck of blood found at the Crewe home, which he broke into two days later.

Mr Wykeham Garsia, defending, said Marinescu came to Britain four years ago but his partner had since gone back to Romania with their young son.