Chesterfield conman racked up £10,000 debt on pensioner’s stolen credit cards

Craig Holmes, 47, targeted his 73-year-old victim’s home while the OAP was in a nursing home suffering with a pituitary tumour.

Derby Crown Court heard after breaking into the Paxton Road house and stealing 14 antique firearms Holmes intercepted mail addressed to its owner.

He then applied for an Aqua credit card and a ran up £600 of debt with a Grattan clothing catalogue account.

Although the Aqua card was never used Gregor Purcell, prosecuting, said Holmes ran up a debt of £9,500 on a Barclay Card belonging to his victim which he had redirected to his own address.

Mr Purcell described how in May 15, 2019 Holmes and a woman who was never identified were seen at Paxton Road, Brimington, loading items from the house into a car with false plates attached with cable ties.

He said: “The car was found in a park nearby and a female and a male were reported to have run off from the vehicle.

"The police who attended made checks and the car was searched – within the car were letters belonging to (the victim) addressed to him.”

Holmes returned to the car, claiming to have been for a run and that he had removed the letters found as he was friendly with their owner – who had died – and that he was “assisting with the clearance of the house”.

Mr Purcell said: “Inside the car were 14 antique firearms that had been taken from Paxton Road.”

When Holmes was informed during a police interview that the owner of the house was not dead the defendant claimed he was “going to hand the firearms in” and he had removed them in case of a break-in – to stop them “falling into the wrong hands”.

Mr Purcell said the removal of documents belonging to the pensioner had “probably” happened on more than one occasion.

He added: “A new external mailbox was fitted – obviously a device to enable the further interception of mail.”

The court heard Holmes’ fraud offences came to light after he was arrested again in April 24, 2020 after an alarm was activated at a post office in Inkersall Green.

Mr Purcell said Holmes was found at 2.45am in suspicious circumstances and detained and his car was searched.

"This was 11 months after the burglaries back in May of 2019 – in the car were documents in the name (of the victim),” said Mr Purcell.

A phone was also found to contain details linking it with applications for credit.

Mr Purcell said: “Mail concerning (the victim’s) financial matters and addressed to him was recovered from the defendant dated from April of 2020.

"So it’s clear that either it had been redirected or it had been intercepted after the burglaries in May 2019.”

The court heard Holmes had previous convictions for attempted theft and going equipped for theft.

However William Bennett, defending Holmes, said his client – who had brought up two children on his own – had never been in trouble prior to 2018.

He said the former heavy goods vehicle fitter’s offending came about following a “complete midlife crisis” brought on by a knee injury affecting his work and the death of his mother.

Mr Bennett said following that Holmes’ life had descended into amphetamine use.

Holmes, formerly of Somerset Drive Brimington, but currently on remand at HMP Leicester, admitted two counts of burglary, two counts of fraud and one count of possession of articles for use in fraud.

Recorder Simon Gurney sentenced him to two years and four months imprisonment.

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