Burglar stole next door neighbour's curtains for his home

It was curtains for a burglar who was rumbled after he stole his next door neighbour's nets and put them up in his own window. Jason Williams was caught out when his neighbours spotted the curtains and asked why he had got them. The 38-year-old was jailed for burglary for two years and five months at Reading Crown Court on Friday for the crime, which his own barrister described as 'not very sophisticated'.

The court heard the neighbours had moved out of the property in Cumberland Avenue, Slough and left only a few items inside after a separate burglary incident, which was nothing to do with Williams. He broke down boarding on the home and stole the net curtains, tools, two glass ashtrays and some lamb steaks from the freezer.


Photo from here.

Williams initially denied stealing the curtains to neighbours, but later confessed in police interviews and admitted burglary when he appeared before magistrates. Alastair Smith, defending, said it was an 'opportunistic' crime, adding: "The fact that this defendant went on to place the curtains in his own window shows a lack of sophistication and realisation of the seriousness of the offence," he said. If he realised it could lead to three years in custody he might have taken more time to consider his actions."

Williams has a history of alcohol and drug addiction and 28 previous convictions for 76 offences dating back to 1985, the court was told. Judge Gordon Risius jailed Williams for two years and five months under the "three strikes" rule because it was his fourth burglary of a dwelling. He told Williams: "You knew what had been going on there and took advantage of the situation."