A WARWICK man who has become so institutionalised he ‘would do anything’ to get back into prison robbed a couple after breaking into their home.
And a judge heard Lee Pheasey is already back behind bars for a more recent offence of robbing a supermarket manager after threatening him with a syringe with a dirty needle.
Pheasey, formerly of Priory Road, Warwick, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to charges of burglary, robbery and attempted robbery.
The court heard that in August last year the 29-year-old broke into an address in Upper Holly Walk, Leamington, and stole jewellery and cash.
He then went on to rob the elderly woman who lived there of her handbag and also attempted to rob a man before leaving.
Pheasey was on licence at the time from a 52-month jail term for smuggling more than £9,000 worth of heroin, cocaine and cannabis into HMP Hewell near Redditch in 2012.
But he was not arrested for the offences until after he had been jailed for another robbery which had taken place the following month at the Co-op store in Clemens Street.
That had involved Pheasey stealing joints of lamb from the store and, when challenged by the manager, threatening him with a full syringe with a dirty needle.
Fearing he was about to be stabbed or even injected with the drug, the manager backed away and Pheasey escaped with the meat. He was jailed for three years for that robbery in November last year.
The drug offence from which he was on licence had taken place after he had been recalled to prison for breaching the terms of his licence from an earlier sentence for burglary.
He handed himself in to the police and was taken back to HMP Hewell where a body scan revealed Pheasey had 175 wraps of heroin worth around £8,000 as well as £130 worth of cocaine and £1,100 worth of cannabis and some steroids concealed internally.
Judge Andrew Lockhart QC adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report and Pheasey was remanded in custody Ian Speed, defending, commenting: “He’s institutionalised and would do anything to return to prison.”
