A burglary suspect was tracked down by police officers thanks to an electric air purifier stolen in a West Bridgford break-in.
The item was taken during a high-value burglary in Albert Road, West Bridgford, on 19 August 2021, when two men broke in and took designer clothing and electrical items.
The victims were on holiday when Liam Mulvaney drove his works van to and from the property in the early hours of the morning.
He was later linked to the fan when an associate of his connected it to the internet and used a personal email address to link it to a mobile phone app.
Mulvaney, who was already known to the police, was also linked to the crime by traffic data and CCTV footage of his vehicle.
The 43-year-old, of Honeywood Drive, Carlton, initially denied being involved but last year pleaded guilty to burglary on the basis that he at no point entered the property and acted solely as a driver.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday he was given a 15-month jail sentence suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
The court had earlier heard form Mulvaney’s defence counsel, who stressed that her client had made strenuous efforts to turn his life around and had not committed any more offences since his arrest.
Detective Constable Ryan Coupe said: “When we arrive at the scene of a burglary, we immediately look for things the offenders have left behind – like fingerprints and DNA evidence.
“However, we can also gain a lot of valuable information from items that are taken away from the scene of a crime – especially those that are later connected to the internet.
“In this case it was a single electrical cooler, presumably used on a hot day by an associate, that led us to identify Mulvaney as a suspect.
“Using the device’s unique serial number, we were then able to prove it had been taken from the victims’ home address and that Mulvaney was involved.
“When combined with the other evidence in this case this left him with little option but to plead guilty to an offence I know has caused a great deal of upset to his victims.”
