Estate agency burgled twice by prolific thief criticises ‘ridiculous’ jail sentence

An estate agency that has twice been burgled by the same thief has criticised the “ridiculous” sentence handed down to him, amid fears that he will return again.

Michael Patterson, 50, forced his way into Madina Property Services’ office in Longsight, Manchester, last September and stole two envelopes containing nearly £6,000 worth of payments made by tenants that day.

He had previously broken into the same office in 2016 and stolen thousands of pounds, according to the Manchester Evening News.

He was sentenced to 16 months in prison for the first burglary and broke in a second time just weeks after his release.

Patterson, who has 45 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to one count of burglary and one count of burglary with intent in relation to the second break-in.

Defending, John Marsh was reported to have said: “He is a thief. He makes no bones about it.

“He would say to Your Honour in mitigation that he never burgles houses.”

He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

A manager at Madina Property Services expressed concern that Patterson would return and attempt to break in again.

The manager, who asked not to be named, told EYE: “We think his sentence is ridiculous.

“This is someone who is obviously a career criminal and who enjoys going to prison, it’s just routine for him.

“The fact that ‘he never burgles houses’ is hardly a defence.”

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4 Comments

  1. Hillofwad71

    You have to ask why are they leaving such amounts of cash  lying around in envelopes especially as they had been done before

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  2. AgencyInsider

    Leaving cash out of a safe when an office is closed usually invalidates any insurances. And is a blinking stupid thing to do anyway. What was the agent thinking?!

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  3. RosBeck73

    In the comments, the usual blaming of the victim. That is a twisted way of looking at justice and injustice.

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  4. christinaestateagent68

    If you’ve been burgled because you left money on the premises… surely you would then bank the money before closing up next time!!!

    More to the point, aren’t deposits supposed to be safeguarded under TDPS????

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