A BURGLAR who searched someone’s bedroom as they slept has been jailed.

Geoffrey Alfred Hicks, 45, was on parole from a 40-month sentence for another house burglary and other offences at the time, said John Hobley, prosecuting.

He broke into a house occupied by six people at night using a crowbar he had stolen in a raid on the neighbouring property, York Crown Court heard.

One of them woke at 1.30am to see a torch shining in her bedroom and then heard Hicks driving off a car that belonged to another of the house occupants from its drive.

He was wearing a North Face jacket stolen in another house raid a couple of weeks earlier, said Mr Hobley.

Following the burglaries in the early hours of November 30, police made a public appeal to locate him. He was arrested on December 4, charged and sent to York Magistrates Court which sent him to the crown court.

Today he is serving his fourth sentence in eight years for house burglary.

“Looking at your antecedents, it is clear that over the years you have spent a lot of time reoffending and burglary offending,” said Judge Deborah Sherwin.

“You don’t seem to be capable of withstanding whatever leads to it.”

Defence solicitor advocate Kevin Blount said Hicks had been housed in shared accommodation following his release from prison shortly before the two burglaries.

The accommodation had been “targeted by drug dealers” and he had slipped back into using cocaine. That had led to the burglaries.

Hicks, of no fixed address and formerly of York, pleaded guilty to house burglary, burgling a garden shed and theft of a car.

He was jailed for two years and eight months.

In 2015 he was jailed for three years for house burglary, in 2017 for five years for house burglary and driving offences and in 2022 three years and four months for house burglary, taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent and other offences.  In total he now has seven convictions for house burglary.

York Crown Court heard he had been released on prison licence shortly before he broke into the Heworth property occupied by six people.

Mr Hobley said the residents had locked their house and went to bed at 11.30pm on November 29.

The occupant who woke at 1.30am knew that the car belonged to another of the residents and went back to sleep after hearing it drive away.

When everyone woke at 6.40am, they found that Hicks had searched and rummaged through the house stealing jewellery, a smart watch, a rucksack with items in it, a purse, identity documents and other items.

One resident woke to find that he had been untidily searching their rom as they slept.

The occupants also found a crowbar which had been stolen from a shed in the adjoining property. Their neighbours found that Hicks had moved other tools in their shed.

A doorbell camera had caught him on film and police identified him from the CCTV.