Burglar shaved with victim’s razor before stealing gifts

A burglar who broke into a bedsit shaved with his victim’s razor before stealing it – along with wedding gifts, cash, and a passport.

Jordan Evans broke into the house of multiple occupation in Oxford Street, Sandfields, Swansea, in the early hours of 5 November, burgling three bedrooms while the occupants were all out working as Uber Eats delivery drivers.

Swansea Crown Court heard the 36-year-old, who has 61 previous offences on his record, cannot remember breaking into the house and searching the rooms due to the amount of drugs he had taken.

Prosecutor Sarah John told the court that when one Uber Eats delivery driver returned home, he found his room had been entered and searched. Among the items missing were his Pakistan passport, international driving licence, three watches which had been a wedding gift from his wife, clothes, credit cards, and £650 in cash along with a quantity of euros. The victim found facial hair on the floor and realised his shaver, which was also missing, had been used by the burglar.

Police were called and two other occupants of the house – also Uber Eats drivers who were out working – were contacted. When they returned home, they found their rooms had also been burgled with items including an iPhone Pro Max, bank cards, trainers, and a large amount of clothing taken.

The only bedroom not burgled was one which had a tenant sleeping in it. It later emerged that the front door of the house had been left unlocked.

Police began carrying out house-to-house inquiries and gathering CCTV evidence, and Evans was identified from video footage by an officer who had previously dealt with him.

The defendant was located and arrested on 10 November and his cautioned reply to officers was: “For f***‘s sake. I haven’t done no f***ing burglary.” In his subsequent interview, he gave officers a prepared statement in which he denied burgling the house then answered “no comment” to all questions asked.

Jordan Kane Evans, formerly of Myrddin Gardens, Bonymaen, Swansea, but now of Paxton Street, Sandfields, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to burglary and to theft from a shop – stealing a leg of lamb and two jars of coffee from Farm Foods in Parc Tawe retail park on 27 September – when he appeared in the dock via prison videolink for sentencing. He has 32 previous convictions for 61 offences including burglaries, Class A drugs trafficking, and thefts from shops.

In 2020, the defendant was sentenced to 12 months in prison for burgling houses in Morriston, which included him being confronted and searched in the street by a homeowner who demanded “in no uncertain terms” that his stolen keys be returned, at which point Evans dropped his trousers and said: “Do you want to search my testicles as well mate?”

The following year, Evans was sentenced to 28 months in prison for cocaine dealing after he and a fellow dealer were caught with a stash of deals in a car in the Mount Pleasant area of Swansea. When police examined the pair’s phone, officers found a message on his accomplice’s device in which she boasted that “business is crazy” in Swansea and she could make £1,000 in an hour.

Dan Griffiths, for Evans, said the defendant had been released from custody on licence in March this year and stayed away from drugs and “old associates who had a negative influence” for seven months, but following health news about his grandfather, his life went “off the rails” and he began consuming large amounts of crack cocaine and street Valium. The advocate said the defendant’s licence period expires in July 2026 and said his client knows that unless he addresses his drug problem “once and for all” he will continue offending.

Addressing Judge Paul Hobson over the videolink, Evans said he had no memories of the night in question and “cannot explain how much I regret it”. He said in Swansea prison he was putting on weight and was feeling better and he said he was surrounded by “good people and good officers” as well as the prison chaplaincy service. He said he was “very positive” about his future and going to use his time inside to address his problems, adding: “I need to do it for me and my grandmother.”

Judge Hobson said he was pleased to hear the defendant was motivated to change but told him the real test of his resolve would come when he is back in the community.

With one-third discounts for his guilty plea, Evans was sentenced to 18 months in prison. The judge said defendants ordinarily serve 40 per cent of their sentences in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community, but it may be that Evans’ release date will be determined by the outstanding licence period he is subject to.