Victim catches burglar in Luton home

Nathan Patterson, 36, of Talbot Road, Luton, was sentenced on Friday (March 8) to two years and 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to burglary.

At around 5.30am on Sunday January 13, the victim returned to his house in Portland Road and saw that the living room light was turned on. As he approached his house the light went off, and when he got inside he saw Patterson in the house, wearing gloves and leaving the living room.

Patterson tried to push past the victim, who shouted for help from his brother-in-law who had been asleep inside the house. The two were able to detain Patterson until police arrived.

When officers searched Patterson they found three wraps hidden in his sock – two were later identified as being Heroin. He was also in possession of a screwdriver in his waistband, and four sets of car keys.

The victim found that a number of items had been taken from the living room, including two laptops and a PlayStation 4 which were never recovered.

When officers seized CCTV as part of their investigation, it showed a man dressed in black walking to and from the house several times between 3.36am and 5.30am when the victim returned home. In one trip, the man was seen leaving the house carrying a number of items, believed to be the electrical items taken from the living room.

Detective Constable Colin Knight, from the force’s Serious Crime Investigation Team, said: “Arriving home to unexpectedly find someone else there is a complete violation of your personal space. Patterson gave no thought to that when he was inside the victim’s home, making a number of trips to and from the house as caught on CCTV.

“Whilst we wouldn’t encourage people to confront offenders, in this case the quick thinking of the victim and his brother-in-law has helped bring Patterson to justice.”

Patterson was also sentenced to 12 months for being in possession of drugs, which he will serve concurrently to the 32 months he received for burglary.