Serial Burglar Lee Palmer jailed 38 months

A 40 year-old man from Fareham has been jailed for a total of thirty-eight months after admitting a number of offences including burglary. Lee Robert Palmer of Gosport Road in Fareham was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday 14 July after he entering guilty pleas for the theft of a BMW, theft from a vehicle, theft of number plates, and burglary. A further two counts of theft of a bicycle and going equipped to steal were dismissed following his other pleas. Investigating Officer PC Matthew Gorman said: ”This sentence shows how seriously the courts view residential burglary offences and the impact that this crime can have on victims. The sentence imposed also recognises the effect that Palmer’s actions had on his other victims. He showed utter disregard for each of them and I hope his subsequent admission and this sentence will provide all those involved with some closure on the matter. ”Palmer was identified as a suspect in the burglary on Gudge Heath Lane after a vehicle was stolen elsewhere in Fareham. “On the morning of March 22 this year Palmer stole a set of keys from a woman at the Avalon Health Centre on Civic Way. Unbeknown to her he subsequently stole her silver 3 series BMW from the car park. The BMW was then seen outside the burglary address later in the morning and was clearly visible on dash-cam footage. A witness then saw Palmer leave the address through the side gate. He got into the BMW with a blue holdall and drove away. Officers later managed to recover some of the electrical items like laptop and a tablet computers which had been taken. “Later that day Palmer stole number plates from a similar BMW and attached these to the stolen vehicle. The following morning a PCSO from the Neighbourhood Policing Team spotted the BMW with the stolen registration plates and Palmer was subsequently arrested as he approached the vehicle. Further evidence, including DNA and footprints at the burglary address, was later secured to build the case for the offences Palmer was later charged with”.

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