Bungling Eastbourne burglar caught after leaving drop of blood

It was enough to link him to the crimes and on Tuesday (January 10) at Lewes Crown Court he paid for his blunder by being jailed for four years, having pleaded guilty to two burglaries and three offences of handling stolen goods.

Jones, 54, of Seaside, was also sentenced to a further year in prison for breaching early release conditions for a previous drugs offence.

On November 22 Jones broke into a house in Gorringe Valley Road to steal property including an Apple Mac, Omega and Citizen watches, an Acer laptop and an XBox360 and games.

Then on December 4 Jones forced entry into a house in Lewes Road where he stole cash and jewellery worth £2,000. Crucially, during an untidy search of the property, he left traces of blood on bedding.

Detectives and forensic investigators with the Eastbourne, Wealden and Lewes priority crime team were able to use this and other clues to build a case against Jones, and after arresting him on December 6 they recovered a large quantity of stolen property, some of which they have managed to return to Jones’s victims.

Detective Inspector Jason Tuck, from the PCT, said, “The sentence handed down to Jones is a timely reminder that we will make every effort to track down burglars and bring them before the courts so that they can be punished for their crimes.”