A CRIMINAL with an ‘appalling record’ caught by a car owner as he tried to steal it from the driveway has been sentenced to more than three years in jail.

Ioan McKenzie, 47 and of Churton Drive, Wrexham, appeared at Caernarfon Crown Court over video link from HMP Berwyn to be sentenced for theft and drugs offences from September and October this year.

Judge Timothy Petts heard that on September 30, McKenzie entered WH Smiths in Wrexham and helped himself to £287 worth of cigarettes from behind the counter before concealing them in his coat and making off.

Then on October 12, at an address in Wrexham, the defendant was caught sitting in the driver’s seat of a Mercedes car belonging to Mark Clutton on his driveway.

Mr Clutton also saw the thief wearing multiple coats belonging to the family after he entered the property and took car keys from the kitchen.

Multiple pairs of trainers were also found while McKenzie was detained before police arrived, who also discovered two bags of cocaine in his possession.

The court also heard that Mr Clutton, in a victim impact statement, said the offence made him feel vulnerable at his home.

Judge Petts was told that the defendant has a significant antecedent history with more than 80 convictions from 200-plus offences, including around 130 for theft alone with three in 2024.

He also had it confirmed that the cigarettes were never recovered and that this was McKenzie’s fifth domestic burglary since 1999 to contribute to his relevant previous history.

In mitigation, the court heard McKenzie pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and that he had lost his brother and sister to drugs in 2024.

He also did not try to excuse his behaviour and that he was benefitting from prison work.

Sentencing him, Judge Petts said: “There’s little to be said on your behalf.

“You stole £287 pound of cigarettes from a shop in Wrexham and straight after being released from a sentence, you went into a house and took car keys and started it.

MORE NEWS

“You were detained and that’s when he realised you were wearing his coats and you’ve left him feeling vulnerable.

“You have an appalling record, particularly for dishonesty offences and one for a man who is only 47-years-old.”

Judge Petts reduced a five-year sentence to three years and four months for the burglary from a dwelling with no violence offence.

He gave no separate penalty for attempted theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a class A drug (cocaine) and theft of a shop.

He will serve half on licence and pay £228 in compensation in WH Smith.