
A burglar who targeted multiple homes in Preston City Centre has been jailed for more than six years.
John Stoddard, 53, entered four properties between December 2024 and January 2025 and stole electrical items, designer clothes and jewellery worth around £20,000.
Following enquiries by the South Residential Burglary Team, Stoddard was arrested in Yorkshire on 12th February 2025 and was charged with four counts of burglary and four counts of theft.
Yesterday, (Thursday 13th March) Stoddard, of Ryde Street, Hull appeared at Preston Crown Court, Sessions House, and pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary and handling stolen goods.
He was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison.
Op Defender is a force wide campaign to crackdown on residential burglary.
It aims to locate and arrest offenders, take positive action to reduce residential burglary through crime prevention advice, and to safeguard and support victims of crime, keeping them at the heart of investigations.