Heidi Richmond had repeatedly pestered the vulnerable victim for money in the run-up to the incident
Burglar Heidi Richmond(Image: Hull Live)
A drug-taking woman repeatedly pestered a vulnerable man for money before teaming up with an accomplice to smash the window of his home with a manhole cover late at night. Heroin user Heidi Richmond climbed into the flat through the broken window and angrily demanded that the terrified victim hand over his wallet and money.
There was a violent “tussle” between them and she shamelessly stole the man’s TV and passed it out through the window. The man was left living in fear that Richmond and the accomplice would return and he felt unsafe in his home.
Richmond now realised that she had “wasted the last 15 years” of her life on drugs. She had “dug deep” after the “biggest mistake” of her life and “put 100 per cent” into her recovery, Hull Crown Court heard.
Richmond, 36, of Eldon Grove, off Beverley Road, Hull, and Michael Campbell, 36, of Fern Grove, off Folkestone Street, Hull, admitted burglary on November 13. They had both recently been in custody on remand.
Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, prosecuting, said that, two months before the burglary, Richmond went to the Hull home of a 54-year-old man and entered through a front communal door. He assumed that someone else had let her into the accommodation because a code or key was needed.
“She made her way to the living room where she asked for £20, promising that she would pay him back,” said Miss Kioko-Gilligan. The man gave her the money but it was discovered that she had also approached other residents and made similar requests to them.
Richmond visited on two more occasions and the man had given her £20 each time. “She never repaid any of the money that she had borrowed,” said Miss Kioko-Gilligan.
The final time was when he was at a bus stop and she again asked him for £20 but he refused. Richmond persisted and offered him the chance to buy bacon but she stopped when a passer-by came close and the man shouted: “Leave me alone.”
On November 13, Richmond and Campbell went to the man’s home at about 8pm and tried to get in through the door intercom system. They could not do so and there were brief exchanges with a security officer.
“They made threats towards him and threatened his family and were generally unpleasant,” said Miss Kioko-Gilligan. “He told them they were banned from the premises and they duly left.”
Richmond and Campbell returned at 11pm but they again failed to get inside. They threw stones at windows to get someone’s attention. They got hold of a nearby manhole cover and used it to smash the window of the man’s flat.
Campbell kicked the door and Richmond climbed inside the flat, helped by Campbell. Richmond passed a 32-inch TV through the window to Campbell. The man had been watching the TV at the time.
“He was sitting in front of his TV in front of the window,” said Miss Kioko-Gilligan. They also took his coat, which was hanging on an assisted walking frame.
“While she was inside, Richmond demanded his wallet and his money and he said that he hadn’t got any,” said Miss Kioko-Gilligan. “There was a tussle between them.
“That tussle brought him to the floor, where he cut his hand on glass from the broken window.” Richmond had given the name “Holly” to the security officer but she was identified.
The TV was recovered. The man later said: “This incident has really shaken me up. I suffer with poor mobility.
“I am really frightened and these people might come back and do something to me. I feel unsafe and vulnerable in my own home.”
Richmond had convictions for 55 previous offences, including shop theft and attempted burglary. Campbell had convictions for 91 previous offences, including burglary, theft, 25 for assaults and violence and 13 for criminal damage.
He had been jailed for two-and-a-half years in 2021. He was also jailed for 14 months in February last year for wounding and harassment.
Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Richmond had made progress while in custody since November and it was the first time in 15 years that she was off a methadone prescription. “She has been providing negative drug tests while in custody,” said Miss Scott.
Richmond told the court: “I have wasted the last 15 years of my life on drugs. I became curious and that was the biggest mistake of my life. It has snatched 15 years of my life away.
“This time, I have put 100 per cent into my recovery. I have worked on myself this time. I have dug deep. I was struggling.”
Ben Hammersley, representing Campbell, said that the defendant, a crack cocaine user, had an unenviable criminal record but he had made progress while in custody on remand for seven months. He realised that he faced “longer and longer and longer” in prison and could “spend a life sentence in instalments” unless he changed his ways.
“He has started to get to grips with his drug use,” said Mr Hammersley. Campbell previously worked as a drainage engineer and he wanted to go back to that.
“This incident happened after a relapse,” said Mr Hammersley. “He is utterly disgusted with his behaviour. He is thoroughly ashamed and is genuinely remorseful.”
Richmond and Campbell were each given a three-year suspended prison sentence. Richmond was given six months’ drug rehabilitation and 15 days’ rehabilitation. Campbell was given 20 days’ rehabilitation. They were both given a five-year restraining order.
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