A SERIAL burglar has been jailed after “cruelly lying” to get into the home of an elderly man with dementia and taking clothing belonging to his wife who was in hospital.
Manzar Naqui, 45, of no fixed abode, Bradford, was sentenced to six years behind bars at Bradford Crown Court (BCC) on Tuesday for two counts of burglary.
He pleaded guilty to the charges at an earlier hearing.
Four other offences Naqui admitted to were also considered during sentencing, including three other burglaries and handling stolen goods.
Naqui had only just been released from a four-and-a-half-year prison term on August 24, but within six weeks had committed five more burglaries, the court heard.
The two main burglaries happened on September 16 and September 27 this year.
The later offence was in the Shipley area, where an elderly man suffering from early onset dementia was alone at his home, the court heard.
Ella Embleton, for the prosecution, said Naqui knocked on the front door at around 5.30pm and claimed to be head of the hospital ward where the elderly man’s wife had been admitted to.
Recorder Catherine Silverton said the defendant “cruelly lied to the victim” who was “vulnerable” but Laura Addy, for the defence, said Naqui claims he told the man he was there “as part of his work” having previously met and worked for him.
Naqui entered the property and went past the elderly man, heading upstairs, according to Ms Embleton.
The court heard he stole clothing belonging to the victim’s wife, before coming back downstairs and stealing £50 from the man’s wallet and a bank card from the dining room.
The earlier burglary – on September 16 - also happened in the Shipley area at the home of a man in his late 60s who lived alone.
Ms Embleton said Naqui approached the man over the August Bank Holiday to offer gardening services and told him his name was “Roy or Ray”.
The victim left his house at around 9.30am on September 16 and returned eight hours later, at roughly 5.30pm, the court heard.
Ms Embleton said: “On returning home, he noticed the rear door had been smashed with an ironing board and a ladder was propped up against it.
“Several items had been moved around but nothing stolen.”
A sample of blood on the kitchen floor was forensically examined and it came back as a match to Naqui.
Ms Addy said Naqui had worked for the victim and there had been some “confusion” where his tools were stored.
She added that he broke in at first to get those items but did “look around to see if there was anything there to take”, before leaving with just his tools.
Naqui had a key to the house which “showed some trust” but smashed his way in partly because of “frustration”, according to Ms Addy.
Recorder Silverton said the fact Naqui gave a fake name meant “there’s no reason not to come to the conclusion you were planning on burgling him all along”.
The court heard the three other burglaries were committed in September at homes belonging to more vulnerable and elderly people.
Naqui pretended to be a worker at one and stole bank cards and cash, from a taxi company at another where he took a handbag containing several items, and stole a £5,000 cheque and bank card from the third.
In mitigation, Ms Addy said Naqui had been addicted to cocaine for 15 years – which has “very much ruined his life”.
He had tried to seek help but struggled to obtain it and “unfortunately is in that cycle where he’s struggling to fund that addiction”, according to his defence.
Naqui was trying to make “legitimate business” doing odd jobs, such as gardening, at the time of the offences.
But Ms Addy said: “The addiction obviously got the better of him.
“All of these matters were opportunistic, not targeted”.
Record Silverton said she was “sorry” Naqui had been “so desperately left without help” but that she has a “duty to keep the public safe”.
She added if Naqui was not put behind bars he would commit “burglary after burglary against elderly and vulnerable people”.
Naqui was handed 28 months in jail for the burglary on September 16 and 44 months for the same offence on September 27, with the terms to run consecutively.
Recorder Silverton said: “If you continue to behave this way you will probably spend the rest of your life in prison for burglary.”
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