South Hampstead burglar ‘caught red-handed’ faces 2 years in prison
Burglar Jamal Dahdouh. Picture: Met Police - Credit: Archant
A criminal caught-red handed leaving a South Hampstead home he had just burgled has been jailed for more than two years.
On September 27, Jamal Dahdouh, 46 and of no fixed address, left the property in Fairfax Gardens, only to find the local police team lying in wait.
Dahdouh pleaded guilty to two charges – one of burglary and one of breaching a criminal behaviour order – and now faces more than 800 days in jail.
At Wood Green Crown Court on November 11 he was told to serve concurrent sentences of a year for the burglary and 876 days for the breach of the order.
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A/Insp Dave Hodges, who manages neighbourhood policing teams in Hampstead, said: “This was a great example of how pro-active policing from our neighbourhood teams leads to criminals being taken off the streets. Burglary is a crime which deserves being imprisoned for, so I welcome the court’s sentence.”
A/Sgt John Hounsell said: “A call came out to an address in Fairfax Gardens that there was a possible burglary in progress and, just as we arrived, the front door opened and the burglar came out of the door.
“He wasn’t expecting police officers to be there waiting.”
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Sgt Hounsell explained Dahdouh left the property with pockets full of jewellery and cash that did not belong to him.
He added: “A police officer will probably come across a burglary in progress and find a burglar red-handed perhaps once in five years or even longer. It really doesn’t happen and we were probably lucky in a way – we were in the right place at the right time.”
