Lockdown burglar jailed after targeting homes in Skegness

A house burglar who targeted homes in Skegness during the first Covid-19 lockdown has been jailed for 42 months at Lincoln Crown Court.
Lincoln Crown CourtLincoln Crown Court
Lincoln Crown Court

Shane Simpson carried out a string of night-time raids over a three-week period in April before he was identified as the main suspect.

Kevin Jones, prosecuting, said that at the time of the offences Simpson was on bail for a stalking charge and had been fitted with a tagging device which tracked his movements 24 hours a day.

The device was intended to ensure that Simpson stayed out of Nottingham but showed that he was at the addresses of the victims at the time the burglaries were carried out.

Police subsequently carried out a search of Simpson’s address where they found a number of items of property stolen in the burglaries.

The court was told that Simpson has 22 previous convictions for a total of 50 offences.

Shane Simpson, 27, of Wellington Way, Skegness, admitted nine charges of burglary and one charge of theft of a Mercedes Benz car.

The charges relate to incidents in Skegness between 5 and 27 April this year at addresses including Winston Drive, Mulberry Way, Buckminster Drive, Churchill Avenue, The Meadows, Clarke Way, Harrow Road, and Talbot Road. Thousands of pounds worth of property was taken including laptops, mobile phones and jewellery.

Today he was jailed for a total of 42 months. His sentence is to run consecutively with a 12-month jail term imposed for harassment at a court in Nottingham earlier this month.

Mark Watson, in mitigation, said that although still only in his 20s Simpson has suffered a stroke since being remanded in custody for the burglaries and now has paralysis on his left side.

“He has already become to a large extent institutionalised,” said Mr Watson.