Sheffield Crown Court: Blood found at crime scene linked career criminal to Sheffield burglary 

A career criminal with a record spanning more than 40 offences was linked to a Sheffield burglary after droplets of his blood were found at the scene. 

Defendant, Sean Haycock, was part of a group which carried out the burglary at a property on Handsworth Crescent in the Darnall area of Sheffield on September 7, 2023. 

Prosecutor, Louise Gallagher, told Sheffield Crown Court that when the occupant left the property at around 9.50am that day it was 'locked and secure,' but by the time she returned at 11.54am she discovered that a pane of glass on the patio door had been smashed. 

Fearing the burglars may still be present at the property, the occupant called the police and waited outside for officers to arrive, the court heard. 

Ms Gallagher said: "She was waiting for some time, police arrived at 2.45pm."

“It was only at that point that she became aware that all of the rooms had been entered, and all of the drawers had been searched."

The occupant subsequently discovered that a number of items had been stolen, including jewellery and a jewellery box, valued at £790, a Dyson hairdryer worth £330, as well as her purse and contents, which included bank cards. 

Ms Gallagher said the occupant’s bank cards were used four times to make purchases worth £372, shortly after the burglary had taken place. 

The court was told that none of the items taken in the burglary were ever recovered. 

"The defendant’s DNA was found at the scene in the form of blood found at the exterior of the point of entry," Ms Gallagher said, adding that Haycock, aged 35, subsequently handed himself in on October 11, 2023 after learning that police were looking for him. 

Haycock provided police with a pre-prepared statement in which he admitted smashing the window, but claimed he was paid £50 to do it by others involved in the burglary, and he did not actually enter the property himself. 

He subsequently acknowledged his involvement in the offence, when he pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary at an earlier hearing. 

Ms Gallagher said Haycock, previously of Manor Park Way, Manor, Sheffield, has a criminal record of 42 offences, including three previous convictions for burglary - meaning he is a ‘fourth-strike burglar,’ for whom the mandatory minimum term of three years’ imprisonment applies. 

Defending, Rebecca Tanner said Haycock became involved in the burglary, along with unnamed 'associates,' after ‘relapsing into drug misuse’.

She said Haycock received a 25-month sentence in May 2023, but was released after just two days due to the length of time he had spent on remand.

By the time of his release, Haycock was 'drug-free' and motivated to remain so; and also hoped to re-enter the job market, Ms Tanner said. 

She told the court that Haycock was given the assistance of the Probation Service, but they seemed focused on his alcohol intake, when he considered drug misuse to be the issue he needed help with.

Haycock managed to abstain from drugs for a number of months following his release, but then relapsed, Ms Tanner told a hearing held on November 7, 2023. 

She continued: "There is regret and remorse, Mr Haycock is bitterly disappointed in himself for relapsing and committing this offence."

Judge Megan Rhys jailed Haycock for 876 days, and told him it was a 'shame he was unable to continue with the efforts' he had made to get clean while on remand in prison. 

She said she hoped he would take the 'opportunity' to once again get clean during his next stint behind bars, so that when he is released from custody he can remain 'drug, and therefore crime, free'.