Nuneaton burglar receives eight years and 10 months in prison

On 2 February, Mitchell Peter Willison was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court to 106 months in prison for aggravated burglary, theft of a moped, possessing a knife in public, possession of cannabis, and criminal damage.

Willison, 27 of Tuttle Hill in Nuneaton, will also be required to pay a victims’ surcharge of £228.

This follows events on Thursday 1 June, when in the early hours of the morning (around 1:45am), Willison and another male, both wearing balaclavas, gained access to the rear garden of a property on Stoneleigh Close in Nuneaton.

They then forced entry by the back door, before being confronted by the owner of the house on the stairs.

Willison threatened the victim saying he would “cut his throat”, and demanded he handed over the keys to his moped, along with any cash.

On receiving the keys as well as £10, Willison put on the victim’s helmet and rode off on the stolen moped.

Only 15 minutes later, at Tunnel Road, Willison was intercepted by officers, where he was made to dismount the moped and attempted to hide in a bush.

He was discovered and arrested soon afterwards.

Willison claimed he was “in debt for sniffing coke”, which was his reason for being on the stolen vehicle.

On his person, Willison had a switchblade-style knife, as well as some cannabis.

Later that morning in the custody cells, Willison kicked the toilet, leading to it becoming detached from the wall. For this, he received the additional charge for criminal damage under £5,000.

Investigating officer DC Dawson said “Willison is going to be in exactly the right place for Willison for the next eight years and 10 months.

“This act of criminal violence is something that we will not ever tolerate in our communities, who should feel a bit safer in their homes today.

“This was an excellent result for our officers, who had Willison in custody only 35 minutes after he tried to make off with the victim’s property.”