Jail for burglar who smashed his way through roof of phone store

A BURGLAR who stole £15,000 of stock and cash from two neighbouring shops in Rotherham town centre has been jailed for five years.
Terry FletcherTerry Fletcher
Terry Fletcher

Terry Fletcher (37) was arrested by police as part of crackdown on prolific burglars and thieves in the borough, led by Rotherham CID.

Fletcher began his spree on May 17 when he smashed his way through the roof of Fone Pro and Vape Suite store on Effingham Street.

He took £300 from the tills before snatching an assortment of mobile phones worth £3,000.

Two weeks later, Fletcher, of North Road, Rotherham, returned to the shop and forced his way through the roof, activating a smoke screen.

Undeterred, Fletcher ransacked the store as he grabbed phones worth £10,000 before fleeing through a fire escape.

Shopkeeper Aziz Patala previously told the Advertiser how had been considering quitting Rotherham town centre because of the raids.

He said a lack of police presence after closing time had given criminals the "green signal" to break in - and after the second raid he even had to spend the night in his shop as no-one had been available to secure it.

When police investigated the raids, they spotted damage to the neighbouring barber shop.

They discovered cosmetic items worth £1,000 were missing along with £800 from the tills.

Officers recognised Fletcher on CCTV footage and launched an appeal to track him down.

A week later, they spotted him wearing the same clothes he wore during the burglaries and arrested him.

Fletcher, who admitted charges of burglary, was jailed for five years at Sheffield Crown Court last Thursday.