Stephen Charles Tarling (Image: South Wales Police)
Last Updated: 4 minutes ago
A prolific burglar with more than 20 years of offending behind him was caught red-handed – drinking from a bottle of milk he had just stolen from a family’s fridge.
Stephen Charles Tarling, 48, has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after admitting to a nighttime break-in at a home in Mount Pleasant, Swansea, along with a separate attempted burglary nearby on the same evening.
The break-in
Swansea Crown Court heard that in the early hours of March 17 this year, a father-of-six living in Terrace Road, Mount Pleasant, was disturbed by sounds from his kitchen at around 2am.
After shouting downstairs, an external security light activated and the householder caught a brief sight of a man running from the property. He gave chase but the intruder escaped.
Prosecutor Brian Simpson told the court that a check of the home revealed items had been disturbed throughout, with a wallet, phone, batteries, and an Amazon Fire TV stick all taken. The fridge had been left open and a bottle of milk was gone. A wet bathmat suggested the intruder had also been in the bathroom.
Caught with the evidence
Officers began searching the area following the report, and at 2.25am a man was spotted walking through Mount Pleasant drinking from a bottle of milk. He was stopped and detained, and a search of his bag uncovered every item taken from the house.
Tarling told officers he had simply found the bag at the side of the road and picked it up.
The court also heard that just after 1am the same night, a man had tried the front door of a property in nearby Penmaen Terrace before walking away on finding it locked. Video doorbell footage identified the culprit as Tarling.
In a later interview, Tarling responded “no comment” to the majority of questions, though he said he could not account for his whereabouts at the time of the burglary.
Extensive criminal history
Tarling, formerly of Goytre Crescent, Goytre, Port Talbot, and now of North Hill Road, North Hill, Swansea, has 20 previous convictions spanning 42 offences.
These include a robbery in 2002 which resulted in a 33-month sentence; aggravated burglary, burglary, and possession of an offensive weapon in 2012 earning six years; four house burglaries in 2016 for which he received five years; possession of heroin with intent to supply in 2019 resulting in 40 months; and two burglaries in 2021 for which he was given the mandatory minimum sentence as a third-strike burglar of 876 days.
During the 2021 offences, Tarling crept into a Port Talbot home in the early hours and stole a mobile phone from the chest of a sleeping victim. When the victim woke and attempted to track his phone using an online app, it showed as still being at the location – because Tarling had already broken into a neighbouring property.
In April last year, Tarling received a community order after admitting four counts of shoplifting. That order was later revoked following further shoplifting offences, and he was sentenced to a total of 24 weeks in prison suspended for 18 months. The Mount Pleasant burglary placed him in breach of that suspended sentence.
Defence arguments
Matt Murphy, representing Tarling, told the court his client was not proud of his offending and was “focused on addressing his criminogenic needs” – specifically long-standing substance misuse.
He said Tarling’s life had been “spiralling” at the time of the Mount Pleasant offences, and that being remanded in custody had served as a “circuit break.” The barrister added that Tarling had begun a 12-Steps addiction programme and had become a “neurodiversity champion” while on remand at HMP Swansea.
Sentencing
Recorder Andrew Hammond rejected the suggestion that Tarling was genuinely remorseful.
He told the defendant: “For well over two decades you have been preying on the communities where you live, driven by your addiction to controlled substances. I am told you express remorse. I reject that. You are an entrenched addict using thievery and burglary to feed that addiction. You pose an ongoing risk to households in the community.”
Tarling, who had previously pleaded guilty to burglary and attempted burglary, received 30 months in prison with a one-third discount applied for his early pleas. The recorder also activated the full 24 weeks of the previously suspended sentence to run consecutively, making an overall term of 30 months and 24 weeks.
He will serve 40% of the sentence in custody before being released on licence.
