A 31-year-old woman from Slough has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for a distraction burglary in Havant and a second offence in Bagshot, Surrey

Daniela Stoica, of the Green, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court for sentence on Friday (11 November), having pleaded guilty in September to two counts of dwelling burglary.

The charges relate to two incidents, the first took place on Eastleigh Road in Havant on April 26 of this year.

The court heard how Stoica knocked on the door of an address and told the occupants, a man and a woman in their 80s, that she was looking for her cat. She encouraged the occupants to leave the property and enter the garden in an attempt to help her while a man entered the house and attempted to steal items from inside. Nothing was taken.

In the second incident, which occurred in Bagshot on April 28, Stoica again knocked on the door of an address and told the occupants, a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s, that she had lost her cat. Again, the occupants attempted to help her look while a man entered the property and on this occasion took jewellery and watches worth more than £30,000.

An investigation was launched and a vehicle linked to Stoica was located and stopped in South Wales on April 29th. Stoica was arrested and later charged with two counts of dwelling burglary.

PC Kirsty Watts, of Hampshire Constabulary’s specialist burglary team Operation Hawk, said: “The crimes committed by Stoica were despicable, she took advantage and abused the trust of kind people who were just trying to help her.

“The impact of having your home burgled should not be underestimated, and I’m really pleased that we have secured this outcome for the victims in this case.

“I hope that this sentence sends a message to those who commit this type of crime that we will take action and investigate all crimes reported to us fully, even if it means us following you across the country to disrupt your offending and prevent more innocent victims.”

PC Kat Sandys, from Surrey Police, said:

Crime has no borders and as this case demonstrates, we will continue to work quickly and effectively with colleagues in other forces to share information, track down offenders, and make arrests.