”You are 19 years of age and you have, at that age already, a significant criminal record’
Teenage burglar Harlee Hinchliffe(Image: Humberside Police)
A teenage burglar with a “significant criminal record” has been locked up after he landed himself in hot water when police found telltale videos on his mobile phone boasting about his latest spree of offences. Young tearaway Harlee Hinchliffe filmed himself inside a car that he had stolen from outside a house in the early hours.
He also filmed a motorcycle that he and an accomplice stole from an outbuilding after breaking into it, Hull Crown Court heard. Hinchliffe, 19, of Perran Close, Bransholme, Hull, but recently in custody on remand, admitted burglary and theft of a car on December 7, burglary on December 17 and handling a stolen car on December 28.
Maya Hanson, prosecuting, said that Hinchliffe broke into a man’s home in Wytherstone Close, Kingswood, Hull, between 2 and 2.45am on December 7 after removing a lock from a rear patio door. He took the keys to an Audi S3 car from a drawer.
Hinchliffe drove the car, valued at £20,000 to £25,000, away. He was later arrested and video footage on his mobile phone showed him inside the car soon after it was taken.
The occupier later said: “The whole incident has made me feel violated. It’s something you never expect to happen. The whole thing has made me feel uneasy and anxious.”
On December 17, Hinchliffe raided an outbuilding, an old coal shed, at a house in Waveney Road, east Hull. A woman woke up to find the door of the outbuilding wide open and two padlocks on the ground.
She saw that her husband’s Yamaha motorcycle, valued at £19,000, had been stolen. The chain securing it had been cut.
CCTV pictures from a neighbour showed “two people coming and going from a passageway” between 12.30 and 2.30am. Both walked away pushing the motorcycle. Hinchliffe had video on his mobile phone.
On December 19, a man found that his Ford Focus car, valued at £5,500, had been stolen from outside his home. The keys had been inside his home near the door.
Hinchliffe was arrested on December 28 in the yellow Ford Focus. It was being driven on false registration plates. Videos were found on his mobile phone of him driving the car.
Hinchliffe had convictions for 27 previous offences, including 18 for theft-related matters, six for domestic burglary and others for taking a vehicle without consent. His most recent offence was in July last year.
Hannah Turner, mitigating, said that Hinchliffe had “low maturity” and he got himself involved in his spate of offending through the “direction of others” and “peer pressure and impulsivity”. He had an unenviable record of previous offences.
“I do not shy away from that,” said Miss Turner. It was “disheartening” to read about this in a pre-sentence report.
“The probation service do not feel able to offer any alternatives to custody. He does have the motivation to stay away from these negative influences.”
Recorder Abdul Iqbal KC told Hinchliffe: “You are 19 years of age and you have, at that age already, a significant criminal record. There were multiple offences of burglary on your record already.
“You are a prolific burglar and a prolific offender already. You have an awful antecedent history.”
Hinchliffe was sent to a young offenders’ institution for three years, seven months and 26 days.
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