A MAN chased a burglar after being woken in the middle of the night and tied the intruder’s legs together to stop him escaping.
Despite being caught red-handed and handed over to the police at the scene, Tomash Nierobis denied burgling the house when arrested.
But Nierobis (38) of Highfield Road, Hillfields, Coventry, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court and was jailed for 17 months.
Alex Warren, prosecuting, said at 1.20am a man was woken by a banging noise at the front door at his home in Nuffield Road, Coventry.
The man, whose 18-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter were also asleep, then heard the side gate banging, so got up and went to investigate.
When he went downstairs he saw the kitchen light was on, and as he went in, Nierobis ran out of the back door.
But the householder, who had only moved in two weeks earlier, gave chase and kicked Nierobis to the legs before pushing him against a wall and punching him, knocking him to the ground.
He then called to his son to get his phone to call the police, and the two of them tied Nierobis’s legs together so he could not escape as they waited for officers to arrive.
Nierobis had got in by forcing a patio door into the kitchen.
Niall Skinner, defending, said: “The one aggravating factor is that the complainant was at home.
“No violence was used or threatened by the defendant. When the home owner saw him, he ran away straight away and was chased and detained. He did not put up any resistance.
“It was commendable behaviour from the home owner; and Mr Nierobis has asked to apologise to him through the court.”
Mr Skinner added that Nierobis was at a loss to explain why he committed the offence other than that he was drunk and to an extent under the influence of drugs – and he had now taken steps to address his amphetamine use.
Jailing Nierobis, Judge Andrew Lockhart QC told him: “This offence is aggravated because it was a burglary at night of an occupied dwelling, his young child was at home, and you were under the influence of alcohol and drugs.”
