Mansfield burglar given chance to sidestep prison and turn life around back in court for theft
A Mansfield burglar who was given a chance to sidestep prison and turn his life around has begged for yet another break after he was caught stealing quilted jackets.
Dean Graves, now aged 52, of no fixed address, received a suspended sentence with drug rehabilitation when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on October 7, after pleading guilty to four burglaries.
"The simple truth is it's now or never,” Judge Michael Auty told him on that occasion. “You are either going to turn your life around or die in a ditch with a needle in your arm. The only person who can help you is you.
“You have got an absolutely atrocious record, you know that, and many of the offences you have carried out have caused real hardship for the victims.”
But Graves was back before Judge Auty on Wednesday for breaching the terms of the suspended sentence by stealing two gilet jackets from Marks & Spencer, just a week after his last court appearance.
He has 57 previous convictions for 126 offences.
Fergus Malone, mitigating, said Graves didn’t go back on drugs but found himself homeless and living in a tent.
The theft was sparked after he was mugged and his belongings were stolen.
He argued that the court could give Graves “one more chance” as he now has the opportunity for stable accommodation with a childhood friend.
“I am sorry to be here today,” Graves told Judge Auty. “I let you down. I am sorry about that.”
The case was adjourned until December 19 to see if Graves can comply with the order without offending.
The court previously heard he stole a £2,000 electric bike after the owner left locked outside a medical centre in Wood Street, Mansfield, on April 28.
He stole a pencil case and a notebook after smashing the window of a parked car on Wallis Road, on May 22.
He was captured on CCTV jumping over a garden fence and breaking into a shed in Woodland Drive, Mansfield.
He then broke into the Bryson Bell opticians on Westgate by smashing through a glass door panel and stealing £6,000 of sunglasses, on June 3.