Kindly disabled victim robbed in his own home by man he wanted to help

An elderly man with Parkinson's was robbed of money by the very man who had wanted to help get his life back on track. Jeffrey Fogerty had befriended his victim who was so kind to him that he even let him share his house.

A sentencing hearing today (Friday, May 3) was told that Fogerty, 34, who previously pleaded guilty at Truro Crown Court to burglary and possession of Class A drug, befriended his victim about three years ago at a time when he cleaned his windows. He was asked to do odd jobs for him around the house and garden.

His vulnerable victim even allowed him to live in his house for five months as a way to give him a helping hand to get his life back on track. However when his victim's daughter, who has power of attorney over her dad's affairs, started noticing money disappearing inexplicably from her father's account, Fogerty was asked to leave and the locks were changed.

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In June 2023, Fogerty contacted his victim again through Facebook. In November he was asked by his victim where the £1,000 he had taken from him was and if he could return it soon. Despite promises that the money would be repaid to his victim, that didn't materialise.

On December 4 last year Fogerty, from Mount Wise, Newquay, turned up at his victim's property in Truro and was invited in to talk things through. He told his victim he had his life back on track and would start repaying what he had taken from him soon. The court heard that it was then that he unlocked the back door and returned in the early hours the next morning and let himself in.

The court heard that his victim was woken up to find Fogerty in his bedroom going through his property looking for a black personal bag he knew his victim used for his money and bank cards. The bag had been left in another room so Fogerty moved around the house, found the bag and left.

The court was told that his victim tried to contact his bank to block his cards from being used and also called his daughter. Fogerty managed to withdraw £250 and tried to make three other cash withdrawals at cash points in Newquay for £750 but the card block kicked in before more money could be taken out. The bank also later refunded the £250 to Fogerty's victim.

The offender returned the black bag to his victim and was confronted by his son-in-law and was later arrested by police on suspicion of burglary. A small amount of cocaine was discovered on his person and he was then charged for possession of the Class A drug too.

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In a personal victim impact statement read out in court, Fogerty's victim, who suffered from a heart attack two years ago, said he had until then been a deep sleeper but the burglary had affected his sleep and caused him lot of anxiety and stress. He added: "I have lived at this address for five years with no issue but I no longer feel safe. I'm paranoid about the windows and doors being locked. I feel worried at night. I used to be a heavy sleeper but now I feel like I'm always alert and I can't relax. I now have difficulties eating and drinking.

He added: "I wanted to help him get his life back on track. I feel saddened by what happened. He has made me untrusting of others."

The court heard that Fogerty has 10 previous convictions for 28 offences including burglary, robbery and assault and that this latest offence was aggravated by the domestic setting and his victim being vulnerable.

In his defence, Fogerty's barrister said that while being dealt by magistrates court for other matters he had expressed the view that he wanted to go to prison so he could sort his life out. His barrister said: "His partner left him. He was homeless for a while and started drinking heavily. It is in that context that the burglary happened. It was a mean offence and he is remorseful and apologises."

His Honour Judge Simon Carr said this had been a burglary of a domestic property where a vulnerable man was asleep at the time. He said: "Your victim has befriended you and allowed you to stay at his property. You abused his hospitality and were banned from the house when money started going missing. This man let you in to see how you were doing but you unlocked the back door for a planned burglary and you returned in the early hours. He would have been terrified to find you in his bedroom. You stole from him. You have a poor record for violence and dishonesty. This was an unpleasant offence targeting a vulnerable person."

Judge Carr sentenced Fogerty to two years in prison.