‘Grinch of Bradford’ caught with basket full of stolen Christmas presents

A prolific Bradford criminal is behind bars after he was caught hauling a bin full of stolen Christmas presents.

The Crown Court heard on Friday that Jason Walker, 48, already had 60 previous convictions on his record, covering 267 offenses between 1986 and 2022.

In June last year Walker, of Clayton Road, tried to break into a shed in the early hours but was caught outside the property on Ring doorbell footage. Six months later, while wanted in connection with that attempted burglary, Walker was spotted on Hollingwood Lane, Bradford, dragging the green bin.

Read more: Grooming ‘gang boss’ back in court after violently abusing girl

The court heard Walker was arrested and the bin was found to contain various items including boxes of chocolates, hair straighteners, make-up, Christmas cards and a suit. At the time of the attempted burglary and handling stolen property offenses last year, Walker is still subject to a suspended prison sentence imposed at Burnley Crown Court in December 2022.

Honorary Recorder of Bradford Judge Jonathan Rose activated Walker’s two-year suspended sentence and added a further nine months for the most recent offences. Walker admitted a charge of attempted burglary but was found guilty after a magistrates’ trial of handling stolen goods.

Barrister Clare Walsh, for Walker, told the court her client was in a “revolving door” situation when it came to custody. She said she was able to make inroads into her problems while in custody, but then struggled when she returned to the community. Ms Walsh said the offense was unsophisticated and the stolen goods were obtained through vehicle thefts rather than house burglaries or robberies.

Judge Rose jailed Walker for two years and nine months and said he had an appalling record and had failed to take advantage of the help he had been offered in the past. He pointed out that when Walker received a suspended prison sentence, it included requirements such as drug and alcohol treatment, but he did nothing to comply with those conditions.

Judge Rose said handling the stolen goods was a malicious offense as it was clear from the list of items that they were Christmas presents.

He said Walker would have removed them to get money to buy drugs and, regarding the superhero costume, added: “A child deprived of that gift on Christmas Day would have been terrible to worry about”. Judge Rose said Walker was left with no chance and the community had a right to be protected from his crime.