Man who burgled homes while wearing police GPS monitor 'not the sharpest tool in the box'

A burglar who raided three homes after voluntarily agreeing to wear a police tracking tag has been described by his own lawyer as "not the sharpest tool in the box". One of Nicholas Broadley's accomplices entered the bedroom of a ten-year-old boy as the child was playing computer games. Broadley, who appeared before Hull Crown Court with 34 previous convictions, had taken drugs at a party before agreeing to join others on a crime spree on April 1. He had recently been released early from a prison sentence of three years and three months for burglary, when he entered three homes in Goole in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Prosecutor Phillip Evans said 33-year-old Broadley, who was described as a "career criminal", had acted as a lookout, but had fallen foul of technology. He said: "The defendant is a man who had volunteered to take part in a scheme operated by Goole police, whereby he was fitted with a tracking device known as a Buddi. It tracked the defendant's movements using GPS technology. When these burglaries came to the attention of police they naturally consulted the technology and also some CCTV. The defendant was shown to be at the three addresses that were burgled."



In all three cases, Broadley had entered the properties through unlocked or open garages. His haul included three Viking bikes and a pair of Nike trainers. Broadley, of Goole, initially tried to deny being in the area at the time of the burglaries. Mr Evans said: "He said there was something wrong with the tracking device and that he had been home with his mother on the night in question – a version of events his mother did not support." Broadley pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary. Pamela Coxon, mitigating, said: "He had taken some illegal substances. It was suggested that he could pay for these drugs by doing some 'grafting'."

Acknowledging the role of the Buddi tracker in her client's downfall, Mrs Coxon said: "My client is not the sharpest tool in the box." Mrs Coxon stressed her client did not force entry to any of the properties. "These were opportunistic burglaries," she said. "He has not gone equipped to burgle." When he came to be sentenced, Broadley, who appeared before the court on a live video link from prison, stood up without being asked, which meant only his torso could be seen by those in the courtroom. Recorder Simon Kealey jailed Broadley for four years and told him he must serve about half his sentence before he is eligible for release.