Wrexham man jailed for burglary and theft of charity box

Adam Baker, of East Avenue in Ruabon, appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Wednesday for sentence.

The 26-year-old had been convicted at previous hearings of three thefts, two frauds and burglary of a dwelling - all of which took place this year.

Rhian Jackson, prosecuting, told the court that the first offences in time were the burglary and one of the frauds, which took place on January 22.

The defendant's half-brother Shaun Breeze received several notifications from his banking app whilst at work on that day, notifying him that his bank card had been used at the Crafty Dragon pub in Wrexham city centre.

He thought he'd left his bank card and wallet at home, but suspected he may have lost them - a belief reaffirmed when he couldn't find the items at his address after work.

But then he noticed several things which concerned him: mud on his bathroom windowsill, items seemingly knocked over and replaced wrongly, and the bathroom window which he'd left open to vent steam now pulled almost shut.

He believed someone had been in and tried to "cover their tracks," thinking straight away of the defendant, who had been in contact with him a few days earlier.

Mr Breeze's suspicions proved correct, as he found out when he went down to the Crafty Dragon and found Baker.

READ MORE: Wrexham man in court for violent behaviour at Ramada Hotel

The defendant initially denied knowledge of the missing bank card and wallet, telling the victim "Noddy" had them. 

But eventually he relented and retrieved the property from his pockets.

It later turned out Baker had also taken aftershave from the victim's property.

Ms Jackson said the defendant did later message Mr Breeze, claiming he was "disgusted" with himself for what he'd done.

In all, Baker spent some £53.84 on the card, but the defendant's dad gave the victim £42 towards the amount.

The next offence took place on February 10 at the Wynnstay Arms in Ruabon, when Baker stole a Help for Heroes charity box.

The pub's CCTV caught the defendant putting the box in his jacket pocket and leaving the premises.

When he was apprehended, Baker had a large amount of loose change including old pounds and euros.

Next came the second fraud, committed on April 13, when he produced a fake bank invoice to fool a man into handing over his iPhone.

Adam Baker (North Wales Police) (Image: NWP)

Baker had made contact with the victim about the item after seeing it advertised on Facebook marketplace, meeting him in Wrexham and telling him he'd transferred £160 for the item - but that it might take some time to appear.

The victim still hadn't been paid by the next morning and when he checked Facebook, his phone had been put up for sale for £100 by an account believed to belong to Baker.

Then, on April 15, he stole the phone of a woman named Miasha Sarikaya.

She and the defendant had been seeing each other for a few days and he'd asked to use her iPhone, worth £900.

Ms Sarikaya was 'wary' as she'd not long googled Baker and found online records of his previous criminality - but she complied reluctantly, fearing he may be dangerous.

READ MORE: £1,300 bill for man who headbutted his 'childhood bully' in pub

He left with the item, saying he'd be 15 minutes, and when he didn't return for four hours, the victim rang the police.

Finally, on June 22 he stole headphones from Boots in Eastgate Street, Chester, collectively worth £89.99.

And on top of all that, he was in breach of a community order imposed in April for making nuisance 999 phone calls.

Bethan Jones, defending, said her client was "disgusted" with himself, adding: "The most serious matter is the burglary.

"The family has dealt with it as well as they can.

"And there was genuine remorse when [Baker] realised what depths he'd sunk to.

"Clearly the offences tell you a tale, when you read between the lines, of drink and drugs.

"You may be concerned about the charity box; Mr Baker immediately held up his hands and made a full admission.

"He apologised and thankfully the charity will have every penny back.

"He is still a relatively young man."

Ms Jones conceded the only sentencing option open to the court was immediate custody and that: "He has brought it on himself - he's aware of that and makes no excuses."

Jacqueline Jones, chair of the Magistrates, told the defendant his theft of the charity box in particular had been "despicable."

She said: "You were given a chance, and you have failed miserably with the community order."

In total, including the revoked and resentenced community order, Baker was jailed for one year and will have to pay compensation totalling more than £1,000 to his victims on his release.

He was also made the subject of a three year criminal behaviour order, which prohibits him from calling the emergency services unless in a genuine emergency, and from approaching people and asking to use their phones, money or property.