Burglar thought he'd covered his tracks but he didn't account for the cat flap

Wales Online

2 days ago

Burglar thought he'd covered his tracks but he didn't account for the cat flap
Ryan Thomas committed two burglaries, stole two cars and carried out a ram raid. But it was a cat flap that proved his undoing
Ryan Thomas
(Image: Gwent Police )
A creeper burglar was caught after leaving his fingerprints on a cat flap at the house he broke into, a court has heard. Ryan Thomas stole a car from the house and used it to drive to another property from which he stole a second car which he then used in a ramraid on a shop.
Swansea Crown Court heard the defendant had a history of committing burglaries and car offences, and that, by the time police identified him as being a suspect in the burglaries, he was already serving a prison sentence for smashing his way into a different shop and stealing thousands of pounds worth of tobacco and e-cigarettes.
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Dean Pulling, prosecuting, said that on the night of March 31, 2023, in the early hours of the following morning the defendant drove to west Wales from his home in the Merthyr area before breaking into a house in Broad Street in Llandovery.
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He said the defendant took car keys and a box of bottles of Budweiser beer from the property before stealing the householder's Toyota Yaris vehicle. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter
The court heard the victim was unaware her house had been burgled until she woke up but by then Thomas had driven the Yaris to Llandybie where he then broke into a house in Ammanford Road and stole the keys to a Volvo S80 and then the car itself.
He used the Volvo to ramraid a shop at the Petro Express garage in Glanaman.
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The prosecutor said that after using the car to damage the shutters of the store the defendant entered the premises wearing plastic bags on his hands and stole cigarettes and alcohol worth up to £5,000 as well as cash from the till before driving off.
Thomas then drove the damaged Volvo to Swansea where he torched and abandoned it.
The prosecutor said the three burglaries were separately reported to police by the victims, and investigations were launched which subsequently linked them.
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The court heard crime scene investigators recovered fingerprints from a cat flap at the first property and found the intruder had been able to access the door handle by putting his arm through the flap. The prints were matched to Thomas. Read about the high-tech police forensic lab which has helped to crack some of Wales' most serious crimes
The court heard that the Yaris stolen in the first burglary was found around 100ft from the scene of the second burglary - the box of Bud was still in the vehicle and the defendant's fingerprints were also recovered from several of the bottles.
Video doorbell footage recovered by officers investigating the second house burglary caught the defendant entering the hallway of the property. Meanwhile, part of the number plate of the Volvo was found at the scene of the garage ramraid.
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The prosecutor said that by the time police had identified Thomas as a suspect in the three burglaries he was already serving a sentence at HMP Parc, and he said officers "met with considerable difficulties trying to interview him". It was not until July, 2024, that they were able to speak to the defendant, and he answered "no comment" to all questions asked.
Ryan Thomas, aged 30, of Darren Las, Merthyr Vale, Merthyr, had previously pleaded guilty to two dwelling burglaries, a commercial burglary, and aggravated vehicle taking when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
He has previous convictions for 54 offences including domestic and commercial burglaries, aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, handling stolen goods, and assaults occasioning actual bodily harm.
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In August, 2024, Thomas was sentenced to 18 months in prison after he and another man smashed their way into Maesycwmmer Stores in Caerphilly and stole thousands of pounds worth of tobacco and e-cigarettes, before leading police on a high-speed chase through Merthyr in a car fitted with false plates.
Hywel Davies, for Thomas, said it had taken police a year to interview the defendant, and then nearly another year to charge him.
He said the defendant had been putting his time in custody to good use by doing numerous courses, and he said his client had a young daughter who he "misses very very much" and with whom he hoped to regain contact upon his eventual release.
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With one-quarter discounts for his guilty pleas, recorder Christopher Felstead sentenced Thomas to 31 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
Thomas was banned from driving for a total of five years and three months, and must pass an extended test before he can get a licence.