Bradford’s father misses the birth of his second child after being caught burglarizing houses

A Bradford dad has missed the birth of his second child after being taken back to prison for continuing a life of crime.

Luke Brandon, 24, was part of a three-man burglary team that roamed a residential street in Bradford in the early hours, looking to break into houses. He has now been jailed for 20 months.

Bradford Crown Court heard on Monday Brandon, who has previous burglary convictions, was the only one of the trio to stand trial after being identified from CCTV footage by a police officer.

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As well as the prison sentence, Brandon Recorder Taryn Turner also imposed a five-year restraining order banning him from entering the Moorside Gardens area. Recorder Turner said the order was “appropriate and necessary” to prevent any further offending in that area by the defendant.

Prosecutor Verity Barnes described how the three men tried to break into three occupied houses in the middle of the night by picking locks. Householders at two of the properties on Moorside Gardens were disturbed – one by his dog’s barking.

At the time of the attempted burglary, Brandon, of Fencote Crescent, Bradford, was still on license from a previous prison sentence and Recorder Turner said this was an aggravating feature of his offending.

Brandon, who pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted burglary, allegedly had 20 previous convictions for a total of 39 offenses between 2015 and 2023.

Lawyer Samreen Akhtar told the court that while Brandon was on remand for his latest murders, he missed the birth of his second child. She said she now recognized that the people she associated with had not been a positive influence and that she planned to move away from Bradford after his release from prison.

Miss Akhtar said her long-term aim was to train as a hairdresser and she now appreciated how terrifying the crime would have been for householders.

Recorder Turner said Brandon was part of a team and the crime was planned that night. She said all the properties were occupied but luckily only minor damage was caused by the attempted break-ins.