A BURGLAR who created a mini crime wave has been spared a prison sentence.
Mark Lynch, 26, moved in with a friend in Holt to escape his drugs debts in Blackpool.
But while there, he committed 13 burglaries or attempted burglaries in the Holt, Farndon and Wrexham areas in November, December and January.
At Mold Crown Court, a judge decided to give him a chance to tackle his heroin addiction.
Mr Recorder Philip Davies placed Lynch on a community order for 12 months, placed him on supervision and ordered him to follow a drug rehabilitation course.
Lynch had no previous convictions for burglary, had shown motivation to give up drugs while in custody, and the judge said it would now be appropriate to give him a chance to address his addiction.
Lynch admitted two burglaries and asked for 11 other burglaries or attempted burglaries to be taken into consideration.
The court heard he had entered unoccupied houses, during the day and had stolen property.
James Coutts, prosecuting, said that on November 21 he burgled a house in Churton Road in Wrexham while the occupier was at work.
He had stolen watches which he later pawned at a cash converter’s store.
Lynch had sold them using his own name and account, and the watches were recovered.
He also admitted a burglary at Castle Street in Holt, where a witness alerted the police when he saw a man acting suspiciously in the snow.
The man started throwing snowballs as if he was trying to give an air of innocence but then he went down the side of a house.
When police arrested him, he was found to have tools. He said he had popped the screws of a window and may have reached in, but did not enter the house.
Interviewed, he said he had been in the area six weeks after moving from Blackpool because drug dealers were after him.
At the time he was spending £10 a day on heroin.
One of the burglaries to be taken into consideration involved an incident where jewellery with an estimated value of between £7,000 and £9,000 had been taken.
Andrew Green, defending, said Lynch was ashamed and sorry for what he had done. While he had a few previous convictions, he had none for burglary and he had never spent a single day in custody.
Lynch had been caught early and the court had an opportunity to stop his offending in its tracks.
Lynch was determined to stop taking drugs, he had followed a number of courses and did not want to be “a horrible person”.
He had seen his life slipping downhill and he knew he had to have help to change and to “function in the real world”.
The judge was told he was suitable for a drugs rehabilitation requirement as part of a community order, an alternative to custody.