Man sentenced to 3 years behind bars following burglary

Officers have welcomed the sentencing of a violent burglar, Peter Brooks.

Brooks, 45 of Catford Green, Liverpool, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court this morning (10^th October) where he was sentenced to 3 years behind bars after be burgled and assaulted a man.

The incident happened on 14^th June when Brooks smashed the victim’s porch window, attempting to break into the property. Once inside, he was met by the victim in the hallway. Here Brooks pushed the victim, causing him to fracture his shoulder. He left the property with a Lenovo Tablet and two watches.

Brooks was later arrested, charged with the offence and brought to court where he pleaded guilty.

After the sentencing, the victim’s sister read out the following: “I am here today to speak on my brother’s behalf as he’s unable to do this himself due to a brain injury at birth which left him without speech.

“My brother has lived in his property virtually all his life and since the death of our parents who died within 6 weeks of one another in 2013 we have fought hard to build his confidence and put support in place to enable him to live independently in the only home he’s ever known.

“Over the last 6 years he has adjusted to life living alone and has felt safe and contented, that is until the 14th June 2019 when he suffered a terrifying assault and robbery. During this attack he sustained a fracture to his left arm and the bruising extended to his stomach and chest.  He was in excruciating pain and more so as they were unable to immobilise his arm in a cast due to the position of the fracture and instead he had to endure constant pain as his arm was in a sling. This meant he was unable to attend his Day Centre for weeks which disrupted his routine.

“As he functions by structure in his life this has had a significant impact on his mental wellbeing and he lost all motivation to carry on. He constantly looks out of the window and has gestured that he was worried that someone would return and break into his home again. His anxiety became so bad that we installed an alarm system and it took some time for him to realise that he didn’t need to press the panic button every time someone who looked a little suspicious walked past the house.

“Aside from the emotional and psychological impact on him, there has also been a financial impact in terms of installation of an alarm system to make him feel safer, cost of excess on his home insurance, travel costs due to daily visits to his home and hospital appointments. He has a slight disability in his fingers and struggles to manage buttons and zips and with his added injury this made it impossible for him to wash and dress himself. We had to look at other items of clothing to make it easier for him such as shoes with Velcro fastening, elasticated pants and pull-on tops. All this was at an extra cost to him.

“This one act of violence has undone everything we’ve achieved so far to support him to live independently. Knowing that justice has been served will give him and his family some peace of mind and give us the opportunity of rebuilding his life again.”

Detective Constable Gillian Griffiths added: “This incident goes to show the impact that one act can have on another person, leaving the victim emotionally distressed and has impacted him physically.

“I welcome the sentencing of Brooks and hope he takes some time to reflect on his actions and what lasting damages he has caused. I hope the victim and his family can one day move on from this, but I appreciate the difficulties the victim will face given his existing disabilities.

“I sincerely hope others involved in this sort of criminal behaviour also think about what impact they could have, and for what? A tablet and some watches? It’s really not worth it at all and is completely and utterly wrong to leave someone already vulnerable, feeling petrified in their own home.

“Anyone else that feels victim or who has been victim of a similar crime should get in touch so we can investigate and bring the offenders to justice.”