Sheffield man who fell asleep in a car he stole in Crookes burglary handed jail sentence
A man who fell asleep in a car he had stolen in Sheffield has been jailed.
Wayne Smith, of Raisen Hall Road, Sheffield, nodded off in a red Skoda Fabia that had been reported stolen from a burglary in the Crookes area of Sheffield on September 19.
Smith had forced his way into the home overnight and officers were later able to match a footwear mark he had left on the windowsill with the footwear he was wearing at the time of his arrest.
The 46-year-old was further linked to an attempted burglary on September 22 near Broomhall, where he was caught on CCTV in the garden of the property and was seen leaving the area in a red Skoda.
Two days later, police received an anonymous call reporting a man who was asleep in a car with the engine still running. Officers arrived and after recognising the car as one that had been linked to the earlier offences, arrested Smith. A further search of the car led to a large knife being recovered.
During a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court on October 24, Smith pleaded guilty to burglary dwelling and theft, theft of a motor vehicle, attempt burglary, possessing a knife in a public place and going equipped for burglary.
He was sentenced at the same court last week, on January 15, when he was jailed for a total of four years and three months.
Detective Sergeant Tom Jordan said: "Wayne Smith posed an obvious risk to the community of Sheffield by choosing to carry a knife on top of his brazen offending and I'm pleased he will now be spending a significant amount of time behind bars.
"Burglary has a long lasting impact on victims and we work hard every single day to identify offenders, link incidents together, and bring those responsible to justice.
"We take every single report extremely seriously and I hope this recent sentence shows we won't stop until prolific offenders such as Smith have no choice but to plead guilty to their crimes."