Thieves broke into a man’s home twice in one night and set his car on fire

Thieves broke into a man’s home twice in one night, stole his car and set it on fire. During the second robbery, they woke up the victim, who said to the robbers: “What the hell are you doing?”

Dominic Wright, 40, and Ian Powell, 45, burgled the home of Thomas Rakes in Cardiff in the early hours of August 10 this year. Wright committed the first robbery at approximately 1:38 a.m. when he entered the home while the victim was sleeping in bed.

Wright took a mobile phone, headphones, a backpack, a wallet containing bank cards, a laptop worth £2,000 and a set of keys to a Skoda Fabia, at a hearing at Newport Crown Court on Thursday 30 November. The cell phone was right next to Mr. Raikes’ bed and the defendant went into his room and took it while he was sleeping.

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After the robbery, Wright returned to the Blue Dragon Hostel in Newport Road where he met Powell and they returned to Mr Rakes’ address in Roath to collect the Skoda. They then drove to an Esso petrol station where they used the victim’s bank card to buy cigarettes and other goods worth £29. They tried to spend a further £79 but the transaction was declined.

Prosecutor Matthew Cobb said the defendant returned to Rakes’ house a second time at around 5am, turned the lights on and off, waking the victim, who got out of bed and confronted the attackers. Both Wright and Powell were dressed in black and wearing ski masks, and the victim said, “What the hell are you doing?”

The defendants managed to escape through the rear of the property and jumped over a nearby garden wall. They left the Skoda in a nearby lane and set it on fire.

The matter was reported to the police and Powell was identified from CCTV footage from the Esso garage, as well as other CCTV evidence from the Blue Dragon Hostel and Mr Rakes’ phone, which incriminated Wright.

Both were arrested on August 11 and Wright tried to impersonate someone else. Wright, who had no fixed address, later pleaded guilty to two counts of abuse, two counts of fraud by false representation and arson. Powell, of Broadway, Adamsdown, pleaded guilty to one count of theft, one count of handling stolen goods, two counts of fraud by false representation and arson.

The court heard Wright had committed 13 previous robberies and will receive the second minimum sentence for robbery. Powell committed 20 counts of dishonesty but only has one conviction for theft.

Mitigating Wright, Victoria Maud said her client had a wife, four children and a successful business, but claimed his wife asked him to leave after she had an affair. The lawyer said the defendant was “remorseful” for his actions and had taken a job as a painter while in custody.

Alice Sykes, for Powell, said her client felt going to prison was “the best thing that could have happened to him”. He has managed to overcome his problems with alcohol and drugs and is taking advantage of the training courses offered to him.

Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said the thieves demonstrated some “arrogance” in stealing items from Mr Rakes while he slept. He added: “The people who robbed the house on the orders of this court are being arrested. “The impact on victims is so great that, in my opinion, only immediate arrest is appropriate and proportionate to this crime.”

Wright was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. Powell was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison.

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