Builder turned detective after finding stolen tools on Facebook

A builder who had £3,000 worth of tools stolen from a property he was renovating turned detective after spotting them advertised on Facebook just hours later.

The tools were taken during an overnight burglary at a house in the Townhill area of Swansea on December 10. The property was being prepared for the rental market when raiders struck, with CCTV footage capturing three people near the building at around 3.15am.

The sting

Later that same day, the victim came across a Facebook post advertising his stolen tools for sale. He contacted police and then headed to the Townhill address listed in the post, posing as a potential buyer.

When the men at the property answered the door they denied any knowledge of tools – but officers subsequently searched the premises and recovered a number of the stolen items.

The defendant

Further inquiries led detectives to Craig Dudley, 38, of Gomer Road, Townhill, Swansea, who was linked to the incident by his clothing and arrested on December 17. He denied any knowledge of stolen tools in his police interview and denied knowing the men at the address where they were found.

Dudley was originally charged with burglary but pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods on the day he was due to stand trial, which was accepted by the prosecution.

He had also previously admitted a public order offence from August last year in which he made a string of threats to a neighbour, telling the man he would petrol bomb his house, that he would be “put in the ground”, and that he was a “dead man walking”. The threats were so serious that police relocated the victim from his home for his own safety. At the time, Dudley was already subject to a 17-month suspended prison sentence for making threats to kill and sending malicious communications.

The court heard Dudley had 22 previous convictions for 34 offences, 14 of which were dishonesty matters including burglary.

Mitigation

Ryan Bowen, defending, told the court Dudley had grown up in Neath and experienced a turbulent and difficult upbringing before leaving school without qualifications. He said his client had found work as a window fitter but was not currently employed. The barrister added that Dudley had been diagnosed with ADHD and borderline personality disorder, and that his record showed he was capable of refraining from offending for periods of time.

Sentencing ⚖️

Judge Huw Rees told Dudley that as he approached his 40th birthday the time had come for him to reflect on how “foolish” he had been on occasions in the past, and to make the necessary changes in his life.

With credit for his guilty pleas, Dudley received four months for the public order offence and four months for handling stolen goods, to run consecutively. The judge also activated nine months of the previously suspended 17-month sentence, bringing the total to 17 months in prison.

Dudley will serve 40% of the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.