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Burglar caught red-handed jailed after allowing victim to take mugshot in exchange for being let go

A burglar caught red-handed agreed to having a mugshot taken in return for being let go – but was later arrested when the home owner passed it to police.

Derek Mulvaney, 51, was ransacking a house he had broken in to when its owner returned home from work.

The man found Mulvaney in a room on the second floor of the property in Folkestone just after 8pm on Friday, February 9 when his dog started barking.

The burglar tried to barge past him but in the ensuing scuffle Mulvaney was restrained and frogmarched downstairs.

Mulvaney, who has a string of convictions for burglary and theft, pleaded to be allowed to leave the home and the owner agreed, providing he allowed him to take a snap of him.

<em>Mugshot – Mulvaney agreed to having a mugshot taken in exchange for being let go (Picture: SWNS)</em>
Mugshot – Mulvaney agreed to having a mugshot taken in exchange for being let go (Picture: SWNS)

The photo was then handed over to Kent Police and he was arrested 11 days later after a public appeal.

Mulvaney was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to the burglary in Radnor Cliff at Canterbury Crown Court.

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PC Richard Glass, from Kent Police, said: ‘While Derek Mulvaney was previously unknown to us, we have since established he has a lengthy criminal record for other offences of burglary and theft committed outside of Kent.

“He pleaded to be let go when caught red-handed by the victim in this case, who understandably did not want Mulvaney inside his home any longer than necessary.

“Instead he had the foresight to take a photograph of him, which led to Mulvaney’s arrest.

“Burglary is a terrible crime that has a long-lasting impact on victims and I am glad the judge acknowledged the seriousness of Mulvaney’s offending in sentencing him to four years in prison.”

(Top picture: Getty)