Thief left his gloves behind after break-in
Bungling housebreaker locked up
A hapless housebreaker who was busted because he left his gloves at the scene of a break-in has been jailed for 20 months.
John Paul Anderson, 49, also left his blood at the scene of another house raid, leading to cops catching him by matching his DNA to both crimes.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard Anderson first targeted a home at Carlibar Road, in Barrhead, when he smashed his way through a front door glass panel with a brick, and legged it with a laptop, a router, an iPhone and Amazon gift vouchers on October 31 last year.
Procurator fiscal depute Ed Sheeran told how Anderson had “ransacked” the family home.
He said: “He took his gloves off and left them in the property.
“The family reported the break-in when they returned to the house and saw the brick lying there.
“They also noticed a knife taken from the kitchen had been left at the front door.”
The raid was reported to cops, who carried out a forensic examination at the house.
The court heard Anderson struck again on May 6, when he broke into a house at Dunterlie Court, also in Barrhead.
The fiscal told how he, again, smashed his way into the property via a side window and stole a laptop, a Hive Home Hub system and an electrical charger.
Cops were called out and they again carried out forensic tests.
Mr Sheeran added: “Two blood swabs taken from the window matched the DNA of the accused.
“DNA of the accused was also found in the gloves in relation to charge one.
“It was also found in the kitchen.
This established that the accused was responsible for both offences.”
On Friday, Anderson pleaded guilty to charges of housebreaking at Carlibar Road and Dunterlie Court in Barrhead.
Defence agent Paul Lynch said his client was in the grip of an addiction to street Valium.
He said: “He has struggled with etizolam. He has taken prodigious amounts of that illicit substance.
“So much so that he has little or no recollection of these events.”
He added Anderson, who was released after a prison spell in the middle of the lockdown, was affected by the lack of drug support services.
He said: “His severe addiction to street Valium lies at the root of his offending.”
Sheriff Gillian Harris jailed Anderson for 20 months and added 174 days from an unexpired portion from an earlier sentence.