Prolific Brighton Offender Jailed For Burglary, Arson, Assault

Thursday, 16 December 2021 06:23

A prolific Brighton offender has been jailed for carrying out three burglaries in quick succession, setting fire to one of the properties involved and headbutting a police officer while in custody.

In the early hours of May 13 a resident of West Drive, Brighton, called police to report his wife had disturbed an intruder inside their home.

When officers arrived, the suspect was standing in the street, opposite the house. A search of him turned up a number of items reported to have been stolen from various victims.

At the scene of the burglary, police found an unoccupied house next door on fire with wood spread out on the floor and set alight, suggesting it had been deliberately set fire to.

The suspect was also found with house keys to another house that had been burgled a few hours earlier in Broad Street in the city, n which items worth thousands of pounds were stolen.

Samuel Wesley, 37, of Clifton Avenue, Littlehampton was arrested and taken into custody, where he headbutted a police officer in the face and attempted to bite him.

He was charged with three counts of burglary, which included stealing a hammer from the fire-damaged property to break into the house next door, arson and assaulting a police officer.

At Lewes Crown Court on Friday (December 10), Wesley – who had 31 previous convictions from 64 offences - was jailed for three and a half years, having previously pleaded guilty to all charges.

Detective Inspector Donna Ward said:

“Samuel Wesley is a prolific criminal with dozens of convictions stretching back over twenty years.

“These latest incidents brought harm to a number of innocent victims, from the violation and financial loss that comes with a burglary, to the senseless damage of a property under renovation and assault of a police officer.

“As a force we remain committed catching those who harm our communities, and hammering home the message that the abuse of officers performing their duties will not be tolerated.”