Burglar jailed after throwing paint over house and threatening homeowner

A 21-year-old man who threatened a homeowner with a knife after he interrupted his crime has been jailed.

Adam Parsons, of Wellington, pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary, being in possession of a bladed article and criminal damage and was sentenced at Taunton Magistrates’ Court on Monday 14 July to just over eight months in prison.

The court heard how, on Saturday 28 June, Parsons had broken into two gardens in the Oakfield Park and Wellesley Park areas. At one property, he broke into a shed and stole tools and gardening equipment.

At the second property, Parsons threw paint over the house and car and woke the homeowner, who called police at around 5am.

When the victim disturbed Parsons from trying to take his belongings, Parsons held up a knife and made threats before running off.

Officers attended the scene within 15 minutes and found the stolen items abandoned nearby, however he had escaped through neighbouring gardens.

The court heard how information from the community helped officers identify Parsons as the offender. They were then able to place him at the scenes through his electronic monitoring (EMS) tag.

Officer in the case, PC Toby Caswell from the Wellington Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Parsons is a prolific offender who has no awareness or thought for the impact his crimes have on his victims.

“To be threatened in your own home and have your private, safe space breached in this way is unacceptable and abhorrent.

“Through the bravery of the victim interrupting Parsons’ crimes, the two anonymous Crimestoppers, and the effectiveness of the EMS tag, we were able to identify Parsons as the offender, recover and reunite victims with their stolen property and put Parsons in front of the courts two weeks after the crime was committed.”