Burglar traced by DNA test on blood smears at Beeston house

A BURGLAR has been locked up after he was traced by his DNA in blood smeared at the crime scene.

Arron Priestley, 20, helped to ransack a house in Derby Road, Beeston, and left his blood in a bedroom.

The householder returned from work to find attempts had been made with tools to open a kitchen window.

A glass door to the living room had been smashed and cupboards opened and clothes strewn on the floor.

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A Dell laptop, a Nokia mobile phone, a camera, a camcorder, alcohol, jewellery and signed football photos of Stuart Pearce and Brian Clough had been taken.

Katrina Wilson, prosecuting, told Nottingham Crown Court: "The defendant was traced by smears of blood left in the property, notably the bedroom. Police had his DNA on their database."

Priestley's DNA profile was stored by police because he had previous convictions. He had been in trouble before for violence, robbery and theft.

The court was not told how Priestley's blood came to be in the house after the burglary on January 16 this year.

But it was concrete evidence that he was involved.

He pleaded guilty to the burglary and an offence of handling stolen goods from a burglary in Beechdale on December 11 last year.

Police wanted to speak to him about this offence but he remained at large for five weeks.

They had recovered incriminating evidence – a stolen jewellery box and a bracelet taken from the property in Beechdale – inside a bedroom where Priestley had stayed.

Judge Michael Stokes QC sentenced him to two years and three months for the burglary and six months consecutively for handling the stolen property.

He said the burglars had used tools to break into a fairly secure home and the property was soiled (with blood) and ransacked.

Oliver Hunter said, in mitigation, that Priestley, of no fixed address, had pleaded guilty at an early stage.

He added: "He understands he really needs to have a look at his life."