Luxury trainer thief jailed for break-in during "Valium binge"

Friday 23 November 2018

A man in his 40s has been jailed for three years after he broke into a flat and stole a woman's dead mother's wedding ring, £300 in cash, and luxury trainers, which he was caught wearing when arrested, as part of a crime binge while he was "off his head on Valium."

The day before the break-in, Michael Dos Santos Moreira (41) had also stolen a £39 phone from the Co-op Grand Marché and £189 worth of perfumes from Boots.

He appeared in Royal Court today, facing one count of breaking and entering, and two counts of larceny. 

Presided by the Deputy Bailiff, the Royal Court heard that Moreira broke into a flat on St. John's Road through an open window in May 2018. When the occupants returned, they noticed that limited edition Adidas trainers worth £80 were missing, as well as £300 in cash and a number of rings, watches and bracelets, together worth more than £3,700.

The stolen jewellery included family wedding rings with a "highly sentimental value," Crown Advocate Conrad Yates said, later claiming that the victims had suffered "trauma" from the incident. He explained that one of the stolen rings belonged to a girl who said it was "the last thing she had of her."

Apart from the Adidas trainers, which Moreira was wearing when he was arrested, the stolen items were never recovered.

Pictured: Moreira said he was "off his head on Valium" when he committed the offences.

Moreira initially denied having committed any of the offences. He told Police officers he had no recollection of stealing perfume from Boots because he had been on a “Valium binge.” He also told a forensic psychiatric he was “off his head on Valium” and was popping Valium "like Smarties", provoked by a family issue.

The Crown Advocate told Court that Moreira had an “entrenched history of drug dependency dating back to his teenage years." He added that Moreira had a very poor criminal record and that his previous offences had been linked to his drug habit, explaining he had either committed them “while heavily under the influence of drugs or in order to fund his drug use.”

He recommended a total prison sentence of three years and three months but the Defence Advocate, Michael Haines, urged the Court to reduce it to no more than two years and nine months.

He described Moreira’s life as a tragedy in every sense, describing “a troubled childhood, a placement at Les Chenes, a cycle of illegal substances use and a revolving door of incarceration through repeat offending.” He added that Moreira had started taking heroin at 17.

Pictured: Advocate Michael Haines said Moreira's life was "a tragedy in every sense."

Advocate Haines told Court that Moreira had suffered a serious injury at the age of 19 and a stroke at 21, adding that drugs had also done “significant damage” to him. He described cognitive and psychological difficulties, explaining that Moreira cannot cope when in crisis and tries to “block it all out” by binging on illegal substances.

He urged the Court to be lenient in their sentence, stating that there had been no aggravating features in the break and entry due to Moreira entering through an open window while no one was home.

The Deputy Bailiff, Tim Le Cocq QC, who was sitting with Jurats Paul Nicolle and Elizabeth Dulake, told Moreira his actions would have a long-lasting effect on the family. “We fully understand the trauma and the sense of violation they feel,” he said. 

He sentenced Moreira to three years in prison.