PREVIEW

WORDS BYLINE: Millie Bowles
Bodycam footage captures the moment police found a burglar in a loft after tracking a stolen pair of AirPods to his hiding spot.
Anthony Allen had raided Rozerin Olgun’s parents’ house in Ashford, Kent, on Christmas Day, while they visited family.
The next day police traced AirPods he had taken to a house in Stanhope, where he tried to avoid detection in the attic.
But a newly-released video shows an officer saying: “Anthony, just come down, this is ridiculous.”
The officer then climbs into the loft and convinces Allen, now covered in dust, to come down.
The 47-year-old’s legs can be seen dangling through the hatch before he is handcuffed.
Allen was charged with burglary and jailed for two years, four months and 23 days at Canterbury Crown Court on February 27.
The court had heard how the Olguns had returned to their home to discover belongings strewn across ransacked rooms, with jewellery, cash and the AirPods missing.
CCTV, timestamped at 11.33pm, showed Allen lurking through the house and haphazardly opening drawers in the living room.
Miss Olgun, who was left shaking after returning to the burgled home on that troubling day last year, said she believes the thief’s sentence is nowhere near long enough.
Highlighting Allen’s 25 previous convictions for 55 offences, she said: “I don't think two years is anything, but obviously it is what it is.
“He has done it at other times, so he'll do it again. That's why I don't think two years is enough.”
The value of belongings taken is estimated to be more than £3,000.
Shanda McAteer, defending Allen in court, said the burglar had issues with drugs and had lost some close relatives before the offence.
She added: “He hopes, through me, to apologise to the family.”
Allen had pleaded guilty to burgling the Olguns’ home at a previous hearing.
The court heard he had been convicted of burgling two other houses in the past.
Judge Paul Goldspring told Allen: “You have an extensive and appalling criminal record.
“Burglary is not merely a crime against property; it’s an intrusion into the safety and security of those violated.”
Allen will have to serve at least 40% of his sentence in custody and pay the statutory victim surcharge.
PC Isobel Harper added: “The impact of Allen’s offending cannot be underestimated, and I am pleased he has received a custodial sentence.
“The victims in this case were made to undergo the trauma of having their house turned upside down, along with the loss of items that were important to them.
“Everyone has the right to feel safe in their home, and I hope the family can begin to recover from this frightening experience now that the offender has been brought to justice.”