Notts brothers burgled paper shop on "downward spiral" after dad's death

John and Michael Wilson burgled Sparks Express on Victoria Road, Netherfield, on November 22, prosecutor Philip Plant said on Wednesday.

CCTV recorded them arriving in a red van and walking down a side alley, before internal cameras captured them breaking in through a back door.

In a statement, the shopkeeper said he was left feeling "vulnerable and paranoid" after the raid, which happened just before Christmas.

Michael Wilson has previous convictions for 173 offences, 108 of which are for theft, and was last in court in September 2019, when he received 14 days for attempted theft.

His brother John has six previous convictions, including dangerous driving and thefts.

Andrew Wesley said Michael, a qualified plasterer who plans to return to work, has already served the equivalent of 20 months, and the offence was drug-related.

"He has been clean for 11 months," he said. "He was spending £50 to £100 on heroin and crack cocaine. Now he is on 30 mls of methadone."

Graham Heathcote, mitigating, said John, also a plasterer, had been on a curfew for ten months.

The court heard the pair went on a "downward spiral" and returned to drug abuse after the death of their father.

Michael, 45, of Jacob's Court, Arnold, and John, 36, of Ladbray Road, Calverton, pleaded guilty to burglary, after initially denying the offence.

Judge Steven Coupland told the pair they caused "damage and considerable upset" to the store owner, but it wasn't a sophisticated offence.

"Your registration number was seen and you were arrested returning to the van," he said.

He released Michael because of the time he has already served and told him he will be on licence for another year. He wished him good luck with his efforts to go straight.

He told John that he committed no offences between 2007 and 2019. adding: “Things stopped going well when your dad died and you went back to taking drugs.” The judge imposed an eight month sentence, but John was freed immediately because of the curfew.

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