He also stole cash from a beauty kiosk
(Image: Humberside Police)
A sneaky burglar with a long history of crime, including 172 previous offences, brazenly raided two stalls inside a Hull shopping centre – and stole a large amount of cash and 48 mobile phones. But his luck soon ran out when he was identified from telltale CCTV pictures and he was arrested after being recognised in the street, Hull Crown Court heard.
Gary Awty, 47, of no fixed address, but recently in custody on remand, admitted two offences of burglary at St Stephen’s shopping centre in Ferensway, Hull, on June 19. He stole 48 mobile phones and £6,000 cash, with a total estimated value of £21,000, from I&Y Style Ltd YAS Mobiles as well as £1,130 cash from beauty services kiosk Wink Brow Bar.
The court heard that a staff member from the mobile phones business was contacted by a colleague to say that the stall was not in the state that it had been left the night before. He was sent a video showing damage to the area of a steel gate and drawers.
He contacted the security team at St Stephen’s, who told him that a man had approached the stall at 10.20pm and was underneath the sheets covering the stall for two or three hours. The staff member went to the stall and discovered that 48 mobile phones, valued at between £10,000 and £15,000, had been stolen.
They belonged to customers, who had left them to be repaired. About £6,000 cash had also been stolen. The place where it was kept was completely empty.
At 9.05am, a member of staff from the beauty services kiosk at St Stephen’s arrived for work and found that £1,130 cash was missing. Five envelopes with cash earnings inside were empty and scrunched up.
The woman saw a pair of misshapen scissors nearby. The next day, a detective identified Auty from CCTV pictures.
A patrol officer later recognised Auty and he was arrested and taken into custody. During police interview, he made no comment to questions and denied being involved.
He had convictions for 172 previous offences between 1994 and last year. They included 89 theft-related matters between 1994 and 2022.
Holly Thompson, mitigating, said that Awty suffered a family bereavement and he turned to drugs. He had reflected on his actions while in custody on remand and he had shown remorse
Awty did not want to keep committing crime in this way. He had pleaded guilty.
Awty was jailed for two years and four months. He appeared in court via a video link from prison.
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