Window Cleaner Caught Stealing From Elderly Customer Thanks To Hidden Camera
23 August 2017, 16:08
A window cleaner who stole money from an 86-year-old customer has been jailed - thanks to a hidden camera set up at her home.
Joshua Woodhouse was filmed searching the pensioner’s bedroom in West Bromwich on 17 May this year.
The 26-year-old was snared by police after relatives of the frail woman raised concerns that money had disappeared from her address the previous month.
Woodhouse, who was due to clean the victim’s windows each month, was filmed going into her bedroom while the pensioner was in her kitchen.
He initially denied theft, but later pleaded guilty to two burglaries between 21-24 April and 17 May.
In total, he took more than £1,000.
Woodhouse, of Cotterills Road, Tipton, was sentenced to two years one month in prison at Wolverhampton Crown Court last week.
Det Con Sarah Forster said: “Woodhouse targeted this woman knowing she was elderly and vulnerable.
“She trusted him as a regular window cleaner; but he took advantage of this misplaced trust to deceive and steal from her.
"We have a range of tactics to catch criminals and the use of the camera on this occasion proved crucial in snaring Woodhouse. It spotted him searching the room and after the money was later missing he had to be the prime suspect.
“We always assess and improve our ways of securing evidence so those who commit crimes are caught and punished through the courts."
