A mum has been jailed for breaking into the Carlisle homes of three people as they slept — including one who woke from a nap to find her staring straight at him.
Angelina Warke, 40, first burgled the Garfield Street property of a nurse who was sleeping on June 12 after completing a night shift. A small window was wide open in her bathroom with a chair outside having been moved and placed underneath it.
Warnke had stolen a host of personal items, including a Gucci wallet, driving licence, make-up, sunglasses and a packet of cigarettes. Five credit cards were taken, one of which was later used by her at a number of places in Carlisle, the city’s crown court heard this afternoon.
Two days later, the occupant of an address at Linton Close was woken by a neighbour who showed him CCTV of Warnke walking out of the back of his property. She had snatched a number of items including a Louis Vuitton bag, a set of keys, driving licence and wallet containing bank cards, fraudulent transactions totalling almost £100 later being made.
On the afternoon of June 19, Warnke broke into a property at Pennine Gardens in Harraby where the occupant had fallen asleep while watching TV.
“When he woke up he saw that the defendant was stood in front of him, staring at him,” said prosecutor Dan Bramhall. When her requests for a carrier bag fell on deaf ears, she took one from the kitchen saying: ‘This will do’.
That victim had keys stolen from him and later described being shocked to see the intruder. “I keep thinking about the incident and I think about how close she was to me when I was asleep,” he said, adding of the burglar: “I hope this will teach her a lesson and stop her from doing this to anyone else.”
Warnke’s two other victims had also provided moving statements in which they described the deep impact of her offending. One said: “The thought of somebody being in my house has absolutely freaked me out.”
The other spoke of being in a deep sleep at the time, wondering whether Warnke might have been in his bedroom and urging her to reflect on her wrongdoing.
Warnke was arrested at her Rydal Street home in Carlisle and was identified on video footage by police. One wig was found at the time she was detained, while four others were located at her home along with designer items.
She initially denied being responsible but later admitted three burglary charges, six of fraud by false representation and one of vehicle interference.
Jeff Smith, defending, said Warnke — a former hairdresser in her native Poland — had sought to blame her offending on doctored cannabis laced with drugs which she had found. “She realises that may sound unconvincing but she has no other explanation,” said Mr Smith.
Recorder Ian Unsworth QC jailed Warnke for 18 months.
“Your utterly selfish offending was motivated by your desire to obtain items which did not belong to you and which in all probability were to be sold onwards to purchase drink or drugs or something else,” said Judge Unsworth. “Whatever your justification for your actions, you showed utter contempt for these householders.”
Warnke, a mother, wept during the sentencing hearing. But the judge said: “Whilst you may be crying now, I am quite sure that those tears are for yourself. You have shown precious little remorse or understanding for these householders.”
After the sentencing, Detective Constable Elinor Murray, of Cumbria police, said: “People should feel secure in their own homes in Carlisle – and we take extremely seriously any burglaries.
“Warnke embarked on a crime spree that saw her target residential properties, even while people were still in their homes.
“She thought she could just enter where she shouldn’t be and take what didn’t belong to her. But she was caught – and those who carry out similar offences can also expect to face a police investigation and prosecution.”
