13 December 2023 , 09:56
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A clueless burglar was found dangling upside down from his shoelaces after getting stuck on a window frame while trying to break into a flat.
A court heard that Lee Kenneth Moore, 41, was discovered "moaning and groaning" by the couple living in the flat. The startled homeowner asked Moore what he was doing, to which the upside-down intruder replied: "I don't know where I am." Prosecutor Leila Taleb explained that Moore had used recycling bins to climb up to the small open window of the York city centre flat.
However, as he tried to squeeze through the window, his laces got caught in the frame and his foot became trapped in the window lock. Judge Simon Hickey described it as "one of the most inept burglaries that has appeared before me for quite some time" and sentenced Moore to two years and four months in prison.
The incident happened at around 3am on July 15. The court heard that Moore had been wandering the streets and saw an opportunity when he noticed the open window. The female victim had been watching films with her partner and they went to bed around midnight, leaving the window open.
They were woken up by "somebody moaning and groaning at about 3am". The woman's partner went to investigate and found a man hanging upside down from his shoelaces, which were caught on the window frame. The woman woke up to find a man hanging upside down from her window, with his head on her sofa. Ms Taleb said: "She asked him what he was doing at her house, and he responded 'I don't know where I am'."
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Her partner tried to help the intruder "get unstuck", but they were worried because they "didn't know his intentions". The woman called the police while her partner held Moore back. Officers arrived 10 minutes later to arrest him. They noticed that three recycling bins had been stacked outside the living room which Moore had used to climb through the window.
Moore was taken into custody but was so inebriated that he was taken to hospital to be checked out, the court heard. He admitted to burglary with intent to steal at an earlier court hearing and was sentenced today after being held in Hull Prison. The court heard Moore had a "shocking" criminal record, having committed 116 previous offences.
His 59 previous convictions were "littered with thefts" and he had accumulated five burglary convictions in a four-year period between 2018 and 2022. Matthew Stewart, defending, said Moore had been "walking through the city" after going out "drinking to excess" before he made the "spontaneous" decision to break into the flat.
He said Moore, a prolific shoplifter, had been living off benefits and had a drink problem and mental-health issues.
Judge Mr Hickey described the attempted break-in as "incredibly inept...but nevertheless quite frightening for (the victims)".