Some burglars steal Goya paintings or precious De Beers jewelry, but this young thief is different as he had his eyes set on stealing birds. Richard Macaulley Smith, an offender since the age of 15, has recently been sentenced to two years detention for stealing two parrots.
The 20-year old Smith and an accomplice broke into the house of Joanna Mason in order to steal her two African grey parrots. He was able to sold one for £300, while the other parrot was found on the street and was returned to the owner by an unnamed guy.
The two parrots were prized possessions of Mason, whom she named Snoop Dog and Missy. The burglary was not a spur of the moment thing, but one which has been carefully planned by Smith, according to a report by Mirror.
Mason said that Smith came to know of her through family association. He was then able to find out about the actual value of the two birds, which were at £800 to £1,000.
The burglary took place at the time Mason was away, and she was aghast to find out that her pets were gone upon returning home. The police were able to trace the burglary to Smith through DNA sampling as the latter left some blood on the smashed window.
The Northern Echo recounted that Smith's lawyer, Andrew Turton, tried to mitigate the sentence by using the defense that Smith was not thinking straight at the time of the commission of the crime due to drugs. He also added that Smith was already feeling remorse and regret over the incident.
On one hand, Sarah Masters, lawyer for the prosecution, established the criminal intent of Smith when he utilized an accomplice for the crime. Another glaring sign of malicious intent was the breaking of the window of Mason's home at the time she was away.
Judge Simon Phillips sentenced Smith to 29 months' detention. He was also given credit for pleading guilty to the crime charged.
