A burglar who left blood on a pillow after ransacking a home was caught after a police pursuit.
Christopher O’Neill smashed his way into the bungalow, in Treswell, near Retford, and stole more than £5,000 worth of jewellery.
The victim returned home from a holiday on 1 July 2023 to discover a bedroom window had been forced open.
Around the same time as the burglary was being reported, officers had been alerted to an apparently separate incident in which a Volvo car was being driven on false plates between Ollerton and Newark.
After the vehicle failed to stop, officers began a pursuit and observed items including a screwdriver and gloves being flung to the roadside.
Christopher O’Neill and the blood stain which helped convict him
A stinger was deployed to stop the vehicle in Tolney Lane, Newark, and when O’Neill leapt out of the car he was quickly detained by officers.
When police attended the burglary they found a blood stain on a pillow which was missing its pillow case.
The DNA evidence identified 36-year-old O’Neill as the intruder.
O’Neill, of HMP Addiewell, in West Lothian, Scotland, went on to plead guilty to burglary and appeared at Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on Friday (12 December).
He was jailed for a total of 11 months for the burglary and failing to appear in court for a previous hearing.
He previously received a custodial sentence of 20 months on 17 August 2023 after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, using false registration plates, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance following the police pursuit.
Detective Constable Bobby Garrow, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“O’Neill’s conviction is thanks to excellent work from a number of policing teams.
“These include the officers who pursued the car and safely arrested him, the crime scene investigators who ensured the vital forensic evidence was secured and the burglary team detectives who built a case against him.
“I’d also appeal to anyone with information about the jewellery to get in touch as we always work to see stolen items reunited with their rightful owners.”
