A man was sentenced to 6-yrs imprisonment for burglary artifice and other offences at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday 26th August 2005.

 

65 year old Allen Johnson of No Fixed Abode pleaded guilty on 07/03/05 to 10 counts of Burglary Artifice committed over 4 years between 2000 and 2004 in the South East and South West. A further 141 offences were also taken into consideration.

 

On 3rd March 2000, Johnson was serving a six-year sentence at HMP Leyhill for burglary offences, when he was admitted to Hospital in Bristol with a heart condition. Two weeks into his treatment at the hospital he absconded from the medical wing.

 

Following his escape Johnson began committing burglary artifice offences across the South East and South West of England, mainly against the elderly.

 

His method was to befriend potential victims in the street or areas and places where the elderly may congregate. His victims were aged from 54 to 101 years old, both male and female. He would use a variety of stories and aliases to deceive the victims, gain their confidence before stealing property or cash from their homes. He often did this by offering his services for plumbing, decorating and gardening, which inevitably he never provided.

 

He often claimed to have connections with local authorities, charities, insurance companies and travel agents. He deceived his victim's into thinking he had relatives in such places and that they would receive privileged treatment on house insurance and holidays if they paid cash for these items through him.

 

Johnson first came to notice of Ealing Borough Police officers in June 2003, when he was identified for a burglary artifice offence in Southall, West London.   Enquiries to trace his whereabouts began, but were unsuccessful.

 

In May 2004, he was again positively identified as being responsible for another offence in Northolt, West London. By this time he was now wanted in connection with over 28 offences across London and the Home Counties.

 

In an attempt to locate his whereabouts Ealing Police took the appeals about his crimes to BBC's Crimewatch. On Tuesday 21 st September 2004, two offences, which occurred in Southall and Northolt, were featured as reconstructions on the programme.  As a result, Johnson handed himself in to Islington Police Station after seeing himself on Crimewatch.

 

Thorough extensive enquiries following his arrest discovered that he had used over 20 aliases during his offending. He also told police he did not know how to drive and did not possess a bank account. Police know he used public transport to travel although he has never had a bus pass and paid for everything in cash. These factors accounted for the difficulty in tracing his exact movements over the four years he had been on the run.

 

In September 2004 Johnson appeared at Ealing Magistrates court. He was remanded in custody to appear at Isleworth Crown court where he was convicted and sentenced. Police believe Johnson may have accrued approximately £150,000 from the amount of property he stole.

 

DC Tim Brownson, Safer Homes Unit, Ealing Borough Police said:

 

� I am very pleased with the sentence.

 

Johnson is a prolific offender who showed little or no regard as to the impact of his actions upon his victims. Based on the evidence against him Johnson had little choice but to plead guilty. To his credit Johnson assisted police in identifying a number of other offences, which were taken into consideration today.

 

We owe a great deal of gratitude to the Crimewatch programme and the victims who allowed Crimewatch to use their stories in the reconstruction, which contributed to Johnson surrendering himself to police.�

 

Detective Superintendent Chris Foster, Head of CID, Ealing Borough Police said

 

�This was an excellent example of a thorough investigation which has contributed significantly towards making London and the South East a safer place for our elderly and vulnerable communities.

 

This sentence sends out a clear message to anyone involved in Burglary Artifice crime that we are committed too tackling this type of offence and determined to obtain prison sentences for known offenders.�

 

Despite this conviction police have yet to locate Johnson's home address, but are positive he does have one.  Police are keen to trace this residence, as the majority of the property he stole over the years has never been recovered. If officers successfully locate Johnson's residence, they hope to recover some of the stolen property and have it restored to the rightful owners.

 

If you have any information, which could help this investigation please contact, Ealing Borough CID on 0208-246-9143 or alternatively Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555-111.