Andrew Alexander, 45, of Park Road, Trowbridge, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of burglary and fraud and was sentenced last week.
His crime spree took place over a week in November last year and on one occasion saw him claim to be a victim of domestic violence in order to convince a member of the public to hand over money. On another occasion, he claimed to be in need of money due to a medical emergency.
During an incident on November 8, Alexander knocked on a woman’s door in Corsham, claiming his wife was in labour and he needed to borrow money to pay for a taxi fare to the hospital. The victim handed over £40 cash and Alexander said he would return the money the next day. He then asked for a glass of water, followed the victim to the kitchen, and then left, taking the victim’s purse with him which contained approximately £200.
In a separate incident, Alexander attended a separate address, told the victim a story that he was a victim of domestic violence and then let himself into the property. The victim felt pressured to transfer £30 to him in order to get him to leave their address.
Sgt Rich Marshall said: “Alexander is a prolific offender who would turn up at people’s houses, often in the evening, and put pressure on them to hand over money with completely fabricated stories about illness or emergency situations. He took advantage of kind-hearted members of our community who believed they were genuinely helping someone in need.
“His behaviour was disgraceful – people should feel safe and secure within their own homes. By doing what he did, Alexander made members of our community feel frightened in the place they should feel most safe.
“We have worked hard to tie these offences together and identify Alexander as the sole offender and I am pleased he has been given a custodial sentence as a result of his deceiving actions.”
