Man given four years for burglary (From Haringey Independent)

Man given four years for burglary of Wood Green flat

3:37pm Thursday 17th January 2013 in News By Bruce Thain

A burglar who was stopped by police before an offence had even been reported has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Colin Reid, 34, of Weir Hall Avenue, Edmonton, was found guilty yesterday of the burglary of a home in Boundary Road, Wood Green.

Wood Green Crown Court heard how on August 24 last year Reid was stopped by officers in an unmarked police car after they saw him carrying a laptop trailing a cable.

He then ran off and was stopped in Grainger Road where officers found he was carrying gloves, a screwdriver and a torch.

Moments later, police received a message via radio of a burglary in a ground floor flat in Boundary Road.

It was reported the suspect had climbed though an open window, waking those living in the flat as he fell to the floor before taking a laptop and running off.

Reid was arrested and taken to Tottenham Police Station where he was subsequently charged with burglary and going equipped for theft.

Detective Constable Wendy Mason of Haringey Police said: “The officers that spotted Reid carrying the laptop and carried out a stop and search on him before the burglary was even reported did a fantastic job.

“Without their instinct and professionalism this successful prosecution wouldn't have been possible."