Prison for ‘despicable’ Sutton burglar who preyed on elderly and vulnerable victims
A "despicable" Sutton burglar who preyed on elderly and vulnerable victims, leaving at least one frail 84-year-old woman mentally and physically shattered, had stayed out of trouble for three decades.
John Laughton told a 74-year-old wheelchair-bound man he was chasing a burglar after entering his home on Unwin Road, on February 27, Denney Lau, prosecuting, told Nottingham Crown Court.
But Laughton fled empty handed when his would-be victim challenged him and broke into a 75-year-old woman’s home an hour later, stealing cash, silver earrings, and using her bank card to buy £19 of goods from convenience stores.
Four days earlier, Laughton tried to batter his way into the home of a frail 84-year-old woman, with a history of heart failure and limited mobility, in the middle of the night.
Wearing a high-viz jacket he tried to persuade her he was a policeman before ransacking drawers and cupboards.
In a statement, her family said their mother now felt unsafe in her own home and suffered two falls while checking doors and windows.
She is now in hospital and probably incapable of living independently as a result of the ordeal, they said.
Laughton claimed to be delivering parcels when he entered the home of an elderly woman with mobility issues, and stole two gold watches, one belonging to her “much-loved and lamented late husband,” the other given as an anniversary gift, and both of immense sentimental value.
On March 3 he entered a 59-year-old man’s flat in Hucknall, but his would-be victim became suspicious and Laughton fled.
And he stole cash and a bank card, with which he later made £135 gains, after getting in through an unlocked door while an 84-year-old man slept.
Luc Chignell, mitigating, said Laughton, aged 56, who only has two previous convictions dating back to 1992, "describes his own behaviour as despicable.”
He overcame a “terrible childhood” and beat a drug addiction 33 years ago to gain work and raise a family.
But he became homeless and relapsed into drug abuse after his marriage ended.
Laughton, of Co-operative Street, Sutton, admitted burglary, attempted burglary, theft and fraud at previous hearings.
Sentencing him to five years in prison on Wednesday, Judge Michael Auty KC told Laughton he wasn't “without sympathy” for his situation, but he couldn't lose sight of the people he'd targeted.