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A 28-year-old man has been found guilty of entering the home of a woman he called "auntie" and stealing a safe and bottle filled with coins worth £500.
After hearing two days of evidence in the Royal Court trial of Andrew James Richomme, a jury reached a unanimous conclusion that he was guilty of illegal entry and larceny following three hours of deliberation.
At the start of the trial, the jury were told the the victim – who was a close family friend of Richomme – had woken up to find her possessions had been taken.
Crown Advocate Christina Hall, prosecuting, described the crime as "terrible", "frightening" and "distressing" for the woman.
“It is also clear that she felt very betrayed by the defendant,” she said.
Jurors were shown CCTV of a nearby street, in which two men were shown carrying the safe and bottle. They were asked to identify whether Richomme was one of the two men.
He had been wearing a medical boot on his foot at the time, which the prosecution said was visible in the CCTV. Richomme denied that it was him in the footage.
Advocate Mark Boothman, defending, said that there was no evidence that Richomme had entered the flat.
Crime scene investigator Graham Dryland had outlined three different ways that someone could have entered the flat, but found no fingerprints or any other evidence at the flat that could be traced back to Richomme.
In his police interview, Richomme first said that he was the man seen on CCTV but later changed his mind.
Giving evidence in court, he claimed that he had been "off [his] barnet" during his police interview, despite not contesting the interview being used as evidence.
He faced two charges: a primary charge of illegal entry and larceny, and an alternative charge of receiving stolen property.
The Bailiff, presiding, explained to the jury that if they were convinced Richomme had entered the flat and taken at least one of the objects, they should find him guilty of the first charge.
If they were not convinced of the first charge, then they could find him guilty of the alternative charge if they could identify him carrying the bottle of coins on CCTV.
Richomme has been remanded in custody until Friday 8 November, when he is to be sentenced by the inferior number of the Royal Court.
The Bailiff was presiding.
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