The dad broke into the home of a man who had already fled his address in fear after being targeted by burglars twice in nine days
Eugen Popescu(Image: Merseyside Police)
A burglar was able to keep his past life in Italy secret and continued his criminal career undeterred. Eugen Popescu targeted the empty home of a man who had fled his address in fear, having already been subjected to two break-ins within the space of less than a fortnight.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Wednesday, that the homeowner left his property, in Southport, locked and secured at around 6pm on February 20 this year and spent the night at a friend’s house as he was “scared to stay at the address”, the property having been targeted by burglars twice over the previous nine days. However, he then returned at 9am the following day to find that intruders had again made their way inside by breaking a window.
Oliver Saddington, prosecuting, described how an “untidy search” was performed across the property with the loft hatch left “hanging down”, although no property was ultimately reported missing. Popescu, of no fixed address, was subsequently identified as being the culprit.
The 39-year-old was previously handed 11 years and two months in prison for robbery by a court in Bologna in 2016. The Romanian national still remains subject to this sentence, despite having successfully claimed asylum in the UK in the interim period.
Callum Ross, defending, told the court that his client had not disclosed this conviction when making his application, a fact that was not thereafter detected by the authorities. He subsequently received an eight-month imprisonment suspended for 20 months at Preston Crown Court in January this year for driving while disqualified and possession of an identity document with intent.
Mr Ross added: “He has two young children and a wife who is five months pregnant. They all live back in Romania. The defendant tells me that his aims for the future are to return to his family and support his wife, especially, in due course, with their new born baby.”
Popescu admitted burglary and breaching a suspended sentence order. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a maroon Puma tracksuit top and assisted by an interpreter, he was jailed for 23 months.
This sentence will result in his deportation once he had served 40% of his prison term. Judge Simon Medland KC said it was “disgraceful, concerning, ridiculous and utterly inexplicable” that Popescu had been allowed into the country in spite of his previous convictions.
He added in his sentencing remarks: “In 2015 and 2016, you were before the courts in Italy for obviously very serious offences. It has been explained to me that those matters were not known at the point where you were granted asylum to the United Kingdom, nor could they have been.”