Locations
Great Hoggett Drive, Beeston, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG9
Description
A thief inadvertantly turned himself in at the police station after arriving to sign the sex offender's register. Jake Barker was jailed for four years in 2016 for a sexual assault in Hyson Green.
He was ordered to sign the sex offender register at regular intervals. Since his release, he failed to do on a regular basis and so was sent back to prison. He was released most recently from prison in February this year.
But on April 24, he stole a wallet from a coat in Slug and Lettuce on Forman Street. And on June 4, he stole a mobile phone in McDonald's in St. Peter's Street in Derby.
He was investigated for both, with his mugshot being sent round to police colleagues. Officers hadn't found him - but on Tuesday, August 27, he walked right under their nose - literally.
The 30-year-old had come to sign the register he so often didn't at Central Police Station, in Byron House, on the roundabout at the top of Maid Marian Way. When staff typed his name in, they realised he was wanted for the other crimes - and he was arrested.
He answered no comment to all interview questions, but officers already had sufficient evidence to charge him. He pleaded guilty to two counts of theft at Nottingham Magistrates Court on Wednesday, August 28.
Barker, of Great Hoggett Drive in Chilwell, was jailed for 38 weeks and ordered to pay a total of £100 compensation to the people he stole from. PC Roger Weir, of Nottinghamshire Police’s prisoner handling team, said:“Barker is a prolific offender who has shown a flagrant disregard for the law over many years.
“He showed some signs of improvement by attending an appointment this week to sign the sex offenders register, but was ignorant to the fact we knew about his recent acquisitive crimes.
“I am pleased he has been dealt with quickly by the courts and is back in prison. Hopefully this time he will finally get the message that crime has very real consequences. Put simply, if you carry on committing offences after you’ve been released from custody, you will continue to see a prison cell.”