Drunk man terrorized woman by breaking into house and stealing blanket

An elderly woman will be scarred for the rest of her days after a young man broke into her home, confronted her and stole her crocheted blanket, a court heard. Jake O’Har-Boa, 26, was drunk when he forced his way into a frightened woman’s property after waking her in the middle of the night.

He was initially seen in her conservatory and wandering around her garden on March 11, 2023. O’Har-Boa, of Grove Road in St Austell, then broke into her home through a window and confronted her before you would steal two of the blankets. A neighbor heard the commotion and came to his aid, the victim being too terrified to come downstairs until the police arrived.

The criminal lawyer said the pensioner was “frightened” and called her daughter and the police after the man did not leave her garden, at which point she heard breaking glass. The defendant soon entered her property and she shouted at him to get out of her house from the top of the stairs.

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She recalled how O’Har-Boa then told her in his drunken state “there are people out there eating people”. He was afraid that he would come upstairs and started threatening him with the walking stick.

“She said she felt scared that she had an intruder in her home and she didn’t know why,” the lawyer added. “The man then walked away down the stairs back into the lounge and the police assured her there was an officer and a dog on the way but she was too scared to come down.”

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She then saw the defendant walking back into her garden when the police arrived and her neighbor was also talking to the man and trying to calm him down before he was arrested. It happened that O’Har-Boa had broken his terrace window to get in, and glass was still falling out of it.

O’Har-Boa had one of her crocheted blankets in his possession, and a sheepskin blanket was missing from the same couch. The victim’s neighbor described how the noise woke both him and his partner. They saw the victim’s window broken and went to assist and described the man as “confused”.

In a victim impact statement, the 76-year-old woman explained that she lives alone and the incident will affect her forever, with her now waking up to the slightest noise. She said, “That scared the hell out of me.”

In his mitigation, the defendant apologized, took full responsibility and said he could not remember the events of that evening. His lawyer also pointed out that he was previously of good character and had only one previous offence.

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Simon Carr said: “Anyone who gets so drunk that they behave in this way should never drink again. your constitution and something about an addictive personality that means you’ll do it again.

“There’s going to be a Friday night where you get your third or fourth drink in you and someone is going to be hurt or seriously hurt. This is exactly what happens when people can’t control their alcohol consumption. To the extent that you broke a 76-year-old person. -The old woman’s house, break in the back door, terrify her and steal a blanket. This level of loss of control is not normal.

He added: “She would have been absolutely terrified, not just that night but for the rest of her life. She will go to bed every night terrified of the person who broke into her home. That’s what you did to the latter. years of her life”.

He said it was to O’Har-Boa’s credit that he immediately accepted responsibility and expressed genuine remorse. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years.

He is subject to an electronically monitored curfew from 7pm to 6am for three months. He will also have to carry out 20 hours of unpaid work and pay compensation of £425 for the broken window and £2,000 to the complainant. He will also pay £150 in costs.