Yahoo News Newcastle burglar sat on floor and started crying after being repeatedly punched by victim
A burglar sat on the floor and started crying after being punched by a householder who found him stealing food in his kitchen.
Andrew Stoker was homeless, hungry and on drugs when he targeted a family home in Shieldfield, Newcastle. But he got more than he bargained for when a man who lives there rained punches on him in a pre-emptive strike.
It was in the early hours of the morning on May 8 that the victim was in his living room when he heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Stuart Graham, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "When he went in the kitchen he saw the defendant, who had gone in and was helping himself to food - he was eating some of it and taking others.
"The complainant was fearful he would reach for a knife from the kitchen drawer so he struck the defendant repeatedly to the face. This caused the defendant to sit on the floor and cry."
Other family members, who had heard raised voices, then came downstairs and one of them called the police. As well as helping himself to food, he had also stolen a silver ring from the kitchen windowsill.
Stoker, who has 110 previous convictions including four house burglaries, pleaded guilty to burglary. He was jailed for two years and four months.
Kate Barnes, defending, said: "He was homeless leading up to this offending. He was seeking to secure himself food. He has no social support in his local community.
"He goes into prison, comes back out, is not offered accommodation by friends or family and the cycle begins again. He was using drugs on this occasion.
"He knows this is a cycle he needs to break or he will spend longer and longer in custody. He is at HMP Leeds and describes being very settled there and is working in the kitchen. It's his wish to make a clean start when he is released."
