Burglar arrested within seven minutes of crime being reported

A man who broke into a house while the occupant was sleeping and attempted to steal her car was arrested within seven minutes of the crime being reported to police.

Dyfed-Powys Police officers were on their way to the scene of the burglary in Clos y Deri, Llanelli, on September 30 when they passed a man matching a description of the suspect.

Scott Turnbull, aged 33, was stopped by police and found to be in possession of items officers believed to be stolen.

Detective Sergeant Katie Cuthbertson said: “We were responding to a call from a woman who had been woken during the early hours by a light being switched on inside her house. She heard what she described as ‘heavy footsteps’ upstairs and felt panicked as she lived alone.

“On challenging the intruder by shouting from her bedroom, the victim then got out of bed and saw Turnbull walking out of one of the bedrooms. He put his hands on her shoulders to physically move her, then left the house.”

Once she was alone, the victim saw that the downstairs of her house had been ransacked. Drawers had been opened, items had been strewn across the floor, with a Sky Q box, blue tooth speaker and trainers placed in a black bag.

The kitchen had also been searched, and the victim told officers the most frightening part of the ordeal was seeing that a chopping knife had been removed from a drawer and placed on the floor.

Realising her car keys were no longer on the kitchen worktop, the woman went outside and saw Turnbull sitting in the driver’s seat of her car. She confronted him again and managed to take hold of the bunch of keys, but Turnbull was left with the car keys when the keyring snapped during the struggle.

He then ran from the vehicle, and the victim phoned 999.

“Units were immediately dispatched, with one car arriving at the house within minutes,” DS Cuthbertson said.

“While a second unit was on its way, a description of the suspect was being given over the radio by call handlers at our control room. Turnbull was seen in the area, and matched this description.

“He was stopped and was found to be in possession of a woman’s purse, which raised suspicions. He was also carrying a number of items believed to have been stolen from the house, including a key which fitted a door at the property.”

Within seven minutes of the incident being reported, Turnbull was arrested on suspicion of burglary and a bag of stolen items was returned to the victim.

A fingerprint was found on a TV which matched that of Turnbull, who was also positively identified by the victim during an ID procedure.

The 33-year-old, of Cae Glas, was charged with burglary and appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Monday, November 5. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

DS Cuthbertson said: “I commend the investigation team for conducting enquiries swiftly and thoroughly, which resulted in the suspect being charged and remanded.

“Turnbull is a prolific burglar, who caused a victim to feel fear in her own home, and has now been brought to justice.”