A Bradford pensioner recognised one of the defendants standing trial for conspiracy to burgle after his photograph was published by the Telegraph & Argus, a jury heard yesterday.
Marina Morris, 67, told Bradford Crown Court she suspected Len Lawrence of stealing three gold bracelets from a bedside drawer at her home after he came round to discuss double glazing.
Thre jury was told a photograph of Lawrence was published by the T&A last week after he went on trial with co-defendants Stewart Marshall, Paige Marshall and Emma Croasdell.
Lawrence, 49, of Bush Hill Fold, Queensbury, and Stewart Marshall, 44, of Mayfield Rise, Wyke, Bradford, deny conspiracy to burgle.
They are accused of targeting frail and vulnerable victims, with an average age of 90, and stealing thousands of pounds from them.
Marshall and his daughter, Paige Marshall, 20, also of Mayfield Rise, plead not guilty to converting criminal property. Croasdell, 38, of the same address, denies arranging to control criminal property.
Prosecutor Andrew Kershaw has told the jury that Stewart Marshall and Len Lawrence offered to help with building work at people’s homes so they could burgle them.
Mrs Morris told the court a black man, who said his name was Lenny, visited her home in the early summer to discuss double glazing.
She said he was smartly dressed, drove a sports car and told her he was earning “mega money”.
Mrs Morris said he had an identity badge in his hand with his photo on it. She said she made him a cup of tea and he went upstairs to use the toilet.
He was gone about five minutes and left the house when Mrs Morris told him she was not interested in buying new windows.
She told the jury that last month she discovered three gold bracelets belonging to her husband were missing.
They were in a drawer by the bed and kept for special occasions. She last saw them in July and no-one had been to the house since Lawrence had visited.
Mrs Morris said she suspected Lawrence of taking them but she did not contact police until she saw his photo on the front of the Telegraph & Argus last week.
Lawrence’s solicitor advocate, Tom Rushbrooke, said Mrs Morris had “put two and two together to make five”.
His client had made no secret of who he was and where he lived when he visited her home to discuss replacement windows, he told the court.
Mr Rushbrooke suggested to the jury that the bracelets had been lost or misplaced.
The trial continues.
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