Burglar caught with stolen TV claimed he found it in street

Jed Albion Hudson gave the false account to police when he was apprehended in the same road as where the break-in had taken place.

He was also in court for a separate burglary and theft of a British Gas van in which he was identified through fingerprints left on a bottle of cider left in the vehicle.

Hudson, 32 and of Craigmoor Avenue, Bournemouth, was jailed for 34 months at a Bournemouth Crown Court hearing on Tuesday, October 25.

Prosecuting, Lucy Conroy said Hudson and co-defendant Jessi Iliana Preston, who did not attend the hearing, committed a burglary at an address in Queen’s Park Avenue, Bournemouth, at around after 11.15pm on April 8.

The resident was away on holiday at the time of the incident but their neighbour’s attention had been drawn to the rear of the property.

After hearing bangs and seeing torch lights, they called police.

Ms Conroy said Hudson went into the property through the rear conservatory, while Preston kept lookout at the front of the property.

Hudson came from the front of the house carrying a large Panasonic television before the pair made off from the property.

Police arrived at 11.25pm and saw the defendants in Queen’s Park Avenue, with Hudson carrying a television, two remote controls and a torch.

“Mr Hudson looked at his co-defendant and said we found it in the street,” Ms Conroy said.

The other burglary Hudson was sentenced for was committed in the Maidstone area on December 5, 2020.

The previous day the victim had arrived home from work and parked his British Gas van outside the property.

On the morning of December 5, he could not find his keys on the table where he left them and he soon realised the van, which contained his wallet, was missing.

Ms Conroy said all British Gas vans have a tracking device and the information for this was given to police, who located it in Belvedere Road, Bournemouth.

The court heard the vehicle contained a cider bottle and forensic finger prints were found, which were a match for Hudson.

In his journey from Kent to Bournemouth Hudson used the victim’s bank cards to make several purchases from petrol stations, including the Cider.

Hudson pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary, theft of the van and fraud by false representation.

Jed Albion Hudson (Image: Dorset Police)

Mitigating, Mike Mason said his client had expressed remorse for his offending.

Mr Mason said Hudson had drug and alcohol problems, which he was now working to address.

“He had a problem,” Mr Mason said. “He feels very much in a better place now.”

Referencing the lie he told to police after the Queen’s Park Avenue burglary, sentencing judge Recorder Malcolm Gibney said: “You are apprehended close by in possession of the television and had the audacity to suggest you had found it in the street.”

Preston, 30 and of Garfield Avenue, Bournemouth, is due to be sentenced on a single charge of burglary at a later date.

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