'I am robbing your home': Intruder's words to terrified boy at Newcastle house

INTRUDER Steven Jones terrified a 15-year-old by telling him he was going to rob his house.

The 26-year-old defendant and another man went to a detached house on the edge of Newcastle when the schoolboy was in on his own, Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard yesterday.

Prosecutor Neil Ahuja said the teenager heard a knock on the side door and went downstairs to find two men outside.

"The defendant asked to come in," said Mr Ahuja. "The 15-year-old did not say anything.

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"The defendant went in to the house and asked for a glass of water. He then said: 'I am here to rob the house'."

The duo stole an iPad before leaving the house, at which point the teenager called the police.

In his victim statement the boy said the incident had left him feeling 'intimidated, scared, helpless and worried'.

As a result of the break-in the teenager's mother said she was nervous about leaving her children in the house on their own.

Jones was traced after his DNA was found on the glass he drank from.

He admitted taking the iPad, which he sold for £100, and said he had split the proceeds with another man.

Jones, of Walton Street, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to burglary on September 22 on the basis the teenager's elder brother owed a debt.

The court heard Jones has 13 previous convictions for 29 offences, including 10 house burglaries.

This offence was committed just eight days after he was released from prison.

Peter McCartney, mitigating, said no threats had been made to the teenager and Jones's guilty plea had prevented the boy having to give evidence in court.

He added:"He went there for a debt owed to him."

Judge Paul Glenn said whether or not the teenager's brother owed the defendant money was no excuse for his actions and jailed him for two-and-a-half years.

He told Jones: "You have been regularly offending since the age of 17. You have already served three significant sentences for offences of burglary. You are wasting your life."

He said it was a serious aggravating feature that the offence was committed eight days after Jones's release from prison.

Judge Glenn added: "You entered this house effectively uninvited. It would have been a frightening experience for a 15-year-old boy, who was alone at the time, particularly when you said you were there to rob the house."