Persistent repeat offender gets four years for burglary

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Aaron Evangelou.

Burglar Aaron Evangelou was jailed for four years on Friday, June 11, 2020, after disturbing an elderly couple while they slept.

Evangelou, 32, woke them up when he smashed the patio glass of their home in Hillary Crescent, Luton.

Prosecutor Francis Gaskin told Luton crown court: “The defendant had come to their bedroom. The wife saw the defendant holding a torch and he ran away.”

They found that a money box in the living room had been opened. The damage to the door was put at £716. The pensioner, whose husband has Parkinson’s disease, said it would be difficult for them to find money for the repair.

In a victim personal statement she said: “I feel uneasy.

“My husband is worried about him returning.”

Evangelou was linked to the burglary, which happened on January 12, this year, by his blood which was left on a curtain. He had also burgled a house in Elmore Road, Luton on January 10, 2020, while the people who live there were out, taking a laptop and iPhone. CCTV from inside the houses showed him carrying out a search.

In addition, he broke into a garage in Meyrick Avenue in the town, where he took two power tools and £70 to £80 worth of food and drink. And he used a stolen bank card to obtain £27 of food from Rockley Food and Wine in Luton.

Evangelou, of Crescent Road, Luton, appeared for sentence from Bedford prison. He admitted two domestic burglaries, one burglary, handling stolen goods and fraud. He asked for 50 offences committed over the past three years to be taken into consideration.

Carl Woolf, defending, said: “He spoke to the police to provide them with a schedule of offences he has committed. He wanted to go to custody and come out with a clean sheet. “He is somebody who has a long history of offending.

“He is not offending all the time. He only offends when he is gripped by drug abuse. He has managed to kick the habit a number of times.”

Jailing him, Judge Rebecca Herbert said the burglary of the elderly’s couple’s home was “extremely frightening.” She said they continued to suffer from the effects of the break-in.

She told him: “You are a committed criminal when you are under the influence of drugs. When addicted you committed crime.“

On November 29, 2010, Aaron Evangelou appeared in Luton Crown Court

Drug addict burglar jailed for 140 offences

A drug addict who burgled homes in Luton has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for 140 offences.

Aaron Evangelou, 23, of no fixed address, admitted two burglaries and asked for 138 offences to be taken into consideration at Luton Crown Court.

Dominic Lewis, defending, said the level of offending was “staggering”.

Evangelou was arrested in August after he broke into a bungalow in Buchanan Drive while the occupants were asleep.