Burglar on mobility scooter broke into Mansfield businesses after drug relapse

CCTV recorded Craig Fallon arriving outside a furniture shop on Pelham Street and breaking a window, on December 4, last year, Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard.

Daniel Pietryka, prosecuting, said, once inside, 38-year-old Fallon levered open a locked drawer and stole a Sony PlayStation games console, a laptop and a tin containing about £1 in change.

The laptop was later recovered from the CeX exchange store where he sold it, but the business was left with a £1,500 repair bill.

He struck again at business premises on Clover Street, on January 22, causing £595 of damage to security doors, but nothing was taken.

Fallon was arrested shortly afterwards with a chisel, a screwdriver and a small amount of mamba.

He also entered Superdrug on the scooter and put £272 of items into a foil-lined bag but was caught again.

Magistrates heard he has a “record of acquisitive offending over a long period of time which aggravates the offences”.

Donna Pursglove, mitigating, said Fallon was due to meet someone who did not turn up and entered the furniture shop “on the spur of the moment”.

She said: “At the time he was homeless and wanted to be arrested. He felt he had no other option but to commit the offences. He is very easily identifiable and can't get away very quickly.”

He has been on “quite strong medication” for serious injuries to his legs, following a road traffic accident in November 2018, and he is due to have further operations next month.

Ms Pursglove said that whenever he moves address there is a problem with receiving the painkillers and he relapses into heroin addiction.

He is currently on methadone, but hopes to take advantage of work opportunities through his family in Spain.

Fallon, formerly of Hickling Court, Mansfield, admitted burglary, burglary with intent to steal, theft, going equipped for theft, and possession of a class B drug, at previous hearings.

He was jailed for 34 weeks, suspended for 18 months so he can work with probationm and ordered to pay £100 compensation to each business ‘for the inconvenience he caused’.