A MAN who burgled three homes in Blackwood, “brazenly” taunted a homeowner on CCTV and then took off in her car, has been sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court.

Gavin Williams, 40, who was homeless at the time of the offences in January and February last year, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary and one count of aggravated vehicle taking.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of theft – relating to an offence on May 26 last year in Machen where he stole a £4,000 bike from a man outside a shop.

Nuhu Gobir, prosecuting, told the court how on January 3, 2020, Williams broke into a detached property at Shannon Close in Pontllanfraith in the early hours of the morning, ransacking the property and taking hundreds of pounds in cash, a mobile phone, bank cards, and a watch valued at £3,000.

Mr Gobir explained how on February 4, 2020, Williams broke into the home of a woman and her four children and pets at Parc Plas in Blackwood at around 3.30am, after cutting a glass panel from the conservatory door. The homeowner said she believes the dogs barking dissuaded Williams from staying at the address for long.

On the same morning Williams targeted a home at the bottom of the cul-de-sac, shared by a mother and daughter.

He broke into the house, taking a set of car keys, stuck his middle finger up to the CCTV camera at the front of the property, and made off in the daughter’s precious Volkswagen Polo, which police later discovered at Bishop Street in Newport with damage amounting to a cost of £1,695.

A Vivienne Westwood £2,000 jewellery set had also been stolen from inside the car.

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In a victim impact statement the woman said the car had a great deal of sentimental value because it was given to her as a gift by her father, and she regularly took the vehicle to car shows.

She described how she was woken by her mother on the morning of February 4 and told the car was missing. She said at first she was in a state of disbelief, followed by upset and worry.

On May 24 last year on Commercial Road in Machen at around 11.30am, the court heard how Williams had stolen a man’s bike, which was never returned.

“CCTV footage from outside the store where the bike was taken showed the defendant casually walk up to the bike, get on it, and ride off,” Mr Gobir said. “Three of the victim’s friends who saw him ride off gave chase, but the defendant loaded the bike onto a car, which drove away.”

In a victim impact statement, the owner of the bike said he had enjoyed riding the expensive bike at least three times a week – a hobby which he said was taken away from him and could not be properly replaced.

Williams has 71 previous convictions – 37 off which relate to theft dating back to the mid-nineties.

For Williams, Mr C Evans asked for a delay in the offences coming before the court to be taken into account, and for totality to be considered in Judge Wayne Beard’s sentencing.

He also asked Judge Beard to take into consideration that Williams has been remanded in custody since May 30 last year, and is currently four months into a four and a half year sentence for burglary.

Judge Beard sentenced Williams to four and a half years, to run concurrently with the sentence he is already serving.