A serial burglar has been jailed after being caught red handed by a home owner who returned to his house in the early hours of the morning to find him inside.
Stefan Kennerk fled empty handed from the house in Exeter but his beanie hat fell off during a tussle with the owner and he was identified by DNA.
He carried out a second raid in Newton Abbot just six days later in which he stole cash, jewellery and computers but this time was traced by forensic evidence from a windowsill.
Kennerk has 25 previous convictions for burglary but had succeeded in going straight for the first time in his life for two years before he returned to drugs and crime after being haunted by memories of childhood abuse.
He was jailed under the three strikes and you’re out law which required the Judge at Exeter Crown Court to hand out a minimum sentence.
Kennerk, aged 42, of Portland Street, Exeter, admitted two counts of burglary and was jailed for two years and nine months by Judge Graham Cottle.
He told him he accepted his life of crime had been caused by the abuse he suffered while in care but said he had no option other than to pass a jail sentence.
He said: ’You are liable to a minimum term. Burglary is a hugely serious offence because of the effect it has on the victims.’
Mr David Bowen, prosecuting, said Kennerk broke into homes at Jubilee Road, Exeter, and Devon Square, Newton Abbot on December 4 and 12. In the first raid the owner returned home at 2am to find his front door open.
Mr Bowen said: ’He saw the defendant in his hallway. He asked what he was doing and Kennerk walked out. The occupier tried to grab him but they both fell to the floor and the he escaped and ran away.
’He left behind a beanie hat which contained DNA from which he was identified. The occupier also picked him out in an ID procedure.’
The owner of the house in Newton Abbot was a woman who returned to find it ransacked and £270 sterling, 200 US dollars, computers, a camera, watch and jewellery stolen.
She made a victim impact statement which revealed she is now scared about going to work and leaving her house empty and feels nervous when she is at home on her own.
Mr Lee Bremridge, defending, said Kennerk had been freed from his last sentence in April 2013 and succeeded in overcoming a drug problem and living a settled life in Exeter with his partner.
He found a steady job as a labourer and paid £1,000 to train as a dumper truck driver and had been doing well until a court case involving abuse at a home he attended as a child caused him so much distress he started using drugs again.
Mr Bremridge said Kennerk is now receiving counselling to help him cope with the legacy of the abuse he suffered and hopes to stay away from drugs and crime when he is next released.