A CAREER thief previously jailed for breaking into Oxfordshire colleges has been caught stealing again.
Roy Evans appeared at Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday (July 10) after pleading guilty to one count of burglary.
The 47-year-old stole £270 Airpods from a gym bag in Iffley Road Sports Ground as well as £80 worth of aftershave.
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He was caught after the Apple product owner used location services to track the earphones.
Evans was previously jailed for breaking into four Oxford language colleges in one night.
The defendant, of Hurst Street, Oxford, was then handed a drug rehabilitation scheme sentence in March last year for five non-dwelling burglaries, including of two Oxfordshire colleges.
Oxford Crown Court (Image: NQ) Handing him a community order, Judge Ian Pringle described the latest offence as a ‘blip’ and wished the defendant well.
“I’m going to regard this as a blip,” he said while sentencing.
“As you’ve done extraordinarily well, you’re now in more solid accommodation and you’re doing you best to get into work.”
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During the sentencing, it was heard that on March 25 this year, the complainant had left his jacket with his Airpods inside in the changing rooms of the Oxford University sports ground.
When he returned about 45 minutes later, he found the earphones missing. Using Apple location services, he tracked the product to a second-hand electronics shop in Cowley.
Signalling an alarm to sound from the Airpods, they were found in a staff member’s hand who admitted that a man had previously sold them to the store.
Evans returned whilst the complainant was in the store and, when confronted, he said: “F*** off”.
The defendant was arrested and made full admissions.
His defence barrister, Peter Du Feu, explained that Evans had been struggling with his recent release from prison and needed money for food.
Evans received a drug rehabilitation scheme, which sees entrenched addicts given publicly-funded places at residential rehab institutions as an alternative to lengthy jail terms, on March 8 last year after five non-dwelling burglaries and one break-in at a student house.
He broke into Oxford International College in St Clements and St Clare’s College in Summertown.
He also broke into Summer Hills Preparatory School in Summertown and Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education.
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At a previous sentencing hearing, it was heard that Evan’s started offending in 1995.
In 2014, he was jailed for three years and nine months for breaking into four Oxford language colleges in one night.
Evans will now have to complete six months of mental health treatment and 60 hours of unpaid work.
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