A man known as a serial burglar of elderly people was sent to jail for six years. Terence Joseph Oakes from Macclesfield stole cash and bank cards from his victims to fund a gambling addiction and was described by a prosecutor as a man who made dishonesty a way of life.
The man previously pleaded guilty to two burglaries and five counts of theft. He got arrested by the police who saw him withdrawing some cash from one of his victims’ bank cards.
Apart from a 96-year-old woman, the rest of Oakes’ victims were aged 72 and 81, respectively. As the prosecution explained, the burglar lied his way into the elderly people’s homes to steal the money and bank cards and pay for his compulsive gambling habits. At the hearing at Chester Crown Court, prosecutor Karl Scholz described the way the crimes were committed.
On September 19th, 2018, Oakes got to the Macclesfield-based home of his 96-year-old victim who lives alone. He lied to the woman, saying that it was her daughter who had sent him to check the back door of her home. Then, he told the elderly lady that the door needed hinges and required her to give him £20 to purchase them. When the woman brought her purse to give him the money, he asked for a cup of tea and the purse containing bank cards and £500 in cash.
He then used the bank cards to place two wagers of £30 each at a betting shop situated nearby. The card was declined at his third attempt to use it.
Two Other Elderly People in Macclesfield Fall Victims to Oakes
The defendant, who was clearly having a problem with gambling, faced allegations of two other burglaries in Macclesfield.
On September 10th, 2018, the man got to an 81-year-old man at his home and lied that he knew him from a fishing club. As the court heard during the trial, he managed to distract the man during the conversation, which gave him the opportunity to steal his wallet containing a bank card, a pension card with the PIN number written on it, as well as £300 in cash. The burglar then left the house and went to a local Post Office where he succeeded to withdraw £130 from the pension account of the victim.
A third offence was committed by Oakes on September 24th, 2018. According to prosecution’s office, he managed to deceive a 72-year-old woman, who was “easily confused”, that he was a brother of a recently passed neighbour. The man convinced her to give him £45 which he promised to use for purchasing a box of wine and some slates for her garden. He also took £5 for a “sympathy card” for the dead neighbour he claimed to be a brother of.
Over the next couple of days, the burglar also managed to convince the woman to provide him with the bank card and PIN number and withdrew cash amounting to £1,500.
- Author
Daniel Williams
