A HATFIELD teenager who stole thousands of pounds worth of goods in over 40 burglaries to fund his heroin addiction was sentenced to four years custody on Tuesday, October 16.

Lee Twohig, 18, of Hillcrest, pleaded guilty to five offences of burglary at St Albans Crown Court, and asked for 36 more to be taken into consideration, mainly from domestic properties in Hatfield, but including a break-in of Oaklands College in St Albans.

Twohig, who has been in custody since his street arrest in Wood Common, Hatfield on June 27, broke into the Hatfield Library Arts and Information Centre on Travellers Lane on June 7.

He escaped with three computer monitors with the alarm sounding.

Prosecutor Catherine Purnel told the court how on June 12 he stole electrical equipment, jewellery and compact discs from a house in Grove Lea, and days later, he lifted a TV, a video and a Playstation from a Brickfield home.

On June 21 Twohig burgled a TV and a computer from Swallow Gardens, and later the same day he took more video equipment from a property in Drovers Way.

After his arrest, he readily admitted the thefts, and even took police on a drive-round of the area, pointing out homes he had broken into.

He explained in detail how he had got into each property, what he took, what he had sold it for and what he spent the money on.

Miss Maryam Sayed, defending, said this was his way of trying to put things right.

She said his heroin addiction was the root of his offending, but while on remand at Woodhill Prison, he had voluntarily detoxified himself, and had endured the pain of "cold turkey" in his fight to beat the drug.

He has attended courses on victim awareness and drug awareness.

Announcing the sentence of four years in a young offenders' institution for each offence to run concurrently, Judge John Slack said the teenage burglar had brought misery on his victims.

Detective Sergeant Kerry Bull of Hatfield CID said after the hearing that following a spate of burglaries between March and June an investigation code-named Operation Binder had been instigated.

"The arrest came from a compilation of forensic evidence and investigative skills," he said.

October 17, 2001 19:12