A BURGLAR who claimed to be a Good Samaritan when he was caught red-handed has been jailed for 12 months.

Jake Johnson, 21, sneaked into a house near his home occupied by people he knew through Facebook, York Crown Court heard.

He stole a set of car keys from the house in Kingsway North, Clifton, late on August 1 and started to drive away a BMW parked on its driveway, said Andrew Espley, prosecuting.

But he crashed into a visitor’s Ford Fiesta that was partly blocking his way. The noise alerted the householders, who came out and saw him in the car.

He claimed he was putting the car back after someone else stole it.

Johnson, of Crombie Avenue, Clifton, pleaded guilty to burglary and aggravated taking of the BMW without the owner’s consent. He was jailed for 12 months and banned from driving for 18 months.

He has previous convictions for house burglary and was released from a previous prison sentence in January for offences including racing a snatched car up and down a residential street when over the drink drive limit .

His barrister Steven Grattage said he was “devastated” by his actions on August 1. Since his release, he had settled down and got a job working 36 hours a week as a warehouse operative.

York Press:

But on August 1 he had something to drink and also took diazepam.

“He did something he thought he had put behind him,” said Mr Grattage. He couldn’t remember what he did or why.

Mr Espley said a close relative of the occupants of the burgled house had been visiting them when at 10.30pm, they heard gravel scrunching under tyres as Johnson tried to drive away. He had a rucksack he had taken from the house. They saw Johnson get out of the car and try to run off, but caught him.

The prosecution accepted he had not targeted the house and that though he was friends with the house’ occupiers through Facebook, he had never actually spoken to them.

Mr Grattage said he apologised.