A CAREER criminal with 101 convictions has been found guilty of conspiring to burgle York city-centre shops and has been jailed for four years.
A jury at York Crown Court took only an hour and ten minutes to find Jason Stewart, of Burton Green, guilty of entering into a criminal agreement to raid Links of London in Stonegate twice, Bang Hairdressers in Low Petergate, The Whisky Shop in the Coppergate Centre, Savers in Goodramgate and Happy Shopper, in New Earswick between January 28 and March 18 last year.
The trial heard more than £25,000 of watches, bracelets and jewellery were stolen from the Links of London jewellers but Stewart, 31, was not caught with anything or found at the scene.
Links after the break-ins
Stewart was, however, linked to the crimes through forensics, including foot marks at the scene matching the trainers he was wearing.
He was arrested eight hours after the Happy Shopper was broken into and was found at the home of Gareth Gowlett, a man convicted of burgling the New Earswick shop.
Stewart denied owning the Nike Air Max shoes and said he had borrowed them from someone else, but could not remember who.
A CCTV shot of one of the raiders at Bang Hair
The jury also heard the burglaries were similar to another crime Stewart had already pleaded guilty to in 2011.
He admitted to burgling York's Fenwick store when a manhole cover had been used to smash the shop front so the burglars could get in.
All five of the burglaries in this case involved using a drain grate or street furniture to get inside the shops.
Stewart has 101 convictions dating back to when he was a juvenile.
CCTV captures raiders in Links in January 2015
They include prosecutions for burglary, dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and robbery.
Mark Partridge, Stewart's solicitor advocate, said: "The defendant has been in custody since December 23.
"He lost his brother last year and has found it very difficult. That has troubled him immensely and he found his initial remand very difficult."
Recorder Euan Duff added: "You and Gowlett, and probably others, were involved in a conspiracy to burgle other premises in and around York city centre shops that was determined and organised offending where you used street furniture and grates to smash into premises.
"Your previous history is a serious aggravating factor in relation to this matter and in my judgement the appropriate sentence for you is four years in prison."
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