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Burglar who targeted Whitby businesses locked up for year
A HEROIN addict who was high on drink and drugs stole from two Whitby businesses, a court heard on Monday.
Carl Andrew Finn (30) had left his home in the north east after being banned from certain areas by court orders and had moved to Scarborough.
He has been behind bars since last August having admitted a series of burglaries. But York Crown Court was told the offences in Whitby and Scarborough were committed while Finn was on bail for the earlier matters and were only the tip of the iceberg in his criminal career.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary with intent at The George Hotel in Station Square on 2 August last year, burglaries at the Scarborough Club and Institute, The Arundel Guest House, Whitby and The Barracuda Bar, Scarborough, all on 20 August last year.
A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police told the Gazette it was very satisfying that such a prolific offender had been brought to justice.
"His actions have caused a great deal of distress and anger to lots of people," he said.
"As this case demonstrates, North Yorkshire Police investigates all incidents of crime with a clear determination to catch those individuals who seek a life of crime.
"Residents in Whitby and Scarborough can feel reassured and confident in the service delivered by their local policing teams to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour."
Stephanie Hancock, prosecuting, told the court Finn walked into the George Hotel and entered a closed restaurant area, where he was caught on CCTV attempting to open a till with cutlery off one of the tables.
At The Barracuda Bar, Finn entered a staff area and was caught leaving with a bag containing handbags, a purse and items of clothing.
But Finn got away after throwing the bag at staff and, a short time later, he walked into the Scarborough Club and Institute and, from a closed function area, removed from a wall a counterfeit 20 note used for instructing staff what to look out for and also picked up a charity box containing coins.
The last offence, at the guest house, happened later the same evening when Finn walked into a closed dining area and took 260 from the till.
Miss Hancock said on 28 August, Finn was jailed for 31 months at Teesside Crown Court for five similar burglaries and was arrested for the Whitby and Scarborough offences while serving that sentence. She added Finn has 47 previous convictions for a total of 150 offences, the majority being non-dwelling burglaries.
Finn told the police he had been high on drugs and alcohol when he committed the offences, travelling from Scarborough to Whitby in order to see a local girl.
Recorder Ewan Duff told Finn that he was satisfied that, if the judge at Teesside had had these extra offences before him, it would not have made any difference to the overall sentence he received. Recorder Duff sentenced Finn to 12 months' imprisonment on each of the four charges to run both concurrently with each other and with the sentence he is currently serving.
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Weather for Whitby
Thursday 24 May 2012
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Temperature: 9 C to 18 C
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