A burglar who targeted a Nottingham student property was caught after leaving his fingerprints on a windowsill.
Crime scene officers discovered the damning evidence while investigating a break-in at a ground floor flat in Howard Street, Nottingham city centre.
The burglary, which took place in June, saw a number of high value electrical items stolen along with two debit cards.
Among the stolen items were an Xbox, gaming headset, laptop, Bluetooth speaker and computer monitor – worth around £600 in total.
The forensic evidence was put through the National Fingerprint Database and matched the fingerprints of prolific thief Callum Fearon.
He was arrested and charged with burglary, along with three unrelated shop thefts at Greggs branches between 13 and 18 June.
Nottingham Crown Court heard Fearon targeted the student flat sometime between 2pm on 19 June and 4.30am the following day.
The student occupant had left a window slightly ajar for ventilation, with the court hearing he did not consider this a security risk as the window had a mechanism to prevent it being opened wide.
When he returned home, he noticed the window was completely shut and that the mechanism had been unscrewed.
He called the police after finding many of his possessions missing.
The court heard the burglary took place days after Fearon had committed three shoplifting offences at Greggs branches in Clumber Street and Beastmarket Hill, stealing drinks and snacks.
A neighbourhood police officer recognised him from CCTV footage and arrested him on 30 June after spotting him in the city centre.
Fearon, aged 34, of Colville Street, Nottingham, went on to plead guilty to burglary and three shop thefts.
At his sentencing hearing on Tuesday (21 October), he was jailed for one year and nine months.
Detective Constable Gavin Harper, who led the investigation, said:
“Fearon is a prolific offender and his criminal history meant we had his fingerprints and DNA on file which linked him to the burglary.
“He is well-known to local officers and so was immediately recognised when CCTV of the Greggs thefts was obtained.
“Burglaries are an invasive crime and the thought of strangers coming into people’s homes can be deeply upsetting for the victims.
“Likewise, shoplifting harms businesses through significant financial losses, leading to higher security costs and increased prices for customers.
“We will continue to put offenders like Fearon before the courts to ensure they pay the price for their criminality.”
