Burglar jailed for raiding Sheffield student’s home while he was sleeping

An ‘organised and sophisticated’ burglar who raided a Sheffield student’s home while he was sleeping has been sentenced to over two years in prison.
Florin Rusin was sentenced during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court today (Wednesday, May 22)Florin Rusin was sentenced during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court today (Wednesday, May 22)
Florin Rusin was sentenced during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court today (Wednesday, May 22)

30-year-old Florin Rusin broke into the property in Lonsdale Road, Hillsborough sometime between September 26 and September 27 last year. 

When the student living at the property went to bed on the evening of September 26 he ensured the doors were locked, prosecutor, Amy Earnshaw, told Sheffield Crown Court. 

Florin Rusin was sentenced during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court today (Wednesday, May 22)Florin Rusin was sentenced during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court today (Wednesday, May 22)
Florin Rusin was sentenced during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court today (Wednesday, May 22)
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She added: “When he awoke the next morning he found furniture had been moved around, there was a footprint on the internal lounge window and a bottle had been left on the sofa.”

Items including a PS4 games console; a HP laptop; wallet and purse were stolen in the burglary. 

Police analysed DNA found on the discarded bottle, which matched DNA records held for Florin on the police database. 

He was subsequently arrested, and exercised his right to silence during police interview. 

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In a statement read to the court, the victim said the incident had ‘caused him distress and his partner upset’. 

 

 

He said the burglary had also affected his studies because he had ‘a lot of work’ on the laptop that was stolen by Florin, of HMP Doncaster.   

Ms Earnshaw told the court that Florin was jailed for three years, nine months on April 3 for two counts of burglary, after being found guilty of the offences during a trial at Sheffield Crown Court. 

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He pleaded guilty to an additional offence of burglary, relating to the Lonsdale Road raid, at an earlier hearing. 

Robert Sandford, defending, said: “He has family in Romania. His mother was sick, and he has a five-year-old daughter...while this doesn’t justify it, that is the background [to his offending].”

Judge Graham Reeds QC sentenced Florin to two years, 10 months for the offence, but said it would run concurrently to the longer custodial sentence imposed for the two other burglaries, meaning he will not serve any additional time in prison for this offence. 

He continued by saying Florin, who is a Romanian national, should have been sentenced for all three offences of burglary together. 

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“I would have imposed the same sentence upon you then, the reason for that is that case was very similar to the two other burglaries, and taken together, demonstrate a pattern of organised and sophisticated offending,” said Judge Reeds. 

He added: “You are likely to be deported, as a foreign criminal. If you are not deported, you will be on license and if you commit any further offences during the currency of your license you will be recalled to prison to serve the remainder of your sentence.”