Woman Jailed For Southampton Distraction Burglaries

14 December 2016, 07:07

Jolene McKenzie Southampton distraction burglar ja

A Southampton woman's been jailed for more than four years - after admitting stealing from elderly women she'd tricked into letting her into their homes.

40-year-old Jolene McKenzie, from Melchet Road in Harefield, would pretend to be delivering leaflets or claim she'd lost her cat or dog. She then took handbags and purses.

Last week, McKenzie was jailed for four years and eight months after pleading guilty to two counts of burglary, handling stolen goods and two fraud by false representation offences.

McKenzie was arrested by detectives after a number of distraction burglaries were committed against elderly women between May and June 2016 in the Harefield area of Southampton.

McKenzie would fabricate a story to gain the trust of her victim and gain access into their homes. She would either pretend to deliver leaflets for companies she didn't work for or claim to be looking for her lost cat or dog.

She would then help herself to purses and handbags.

All of McKenzie's victims were elderly women living in the Harefield area who were severely affected after these crimes.

Detectives investigating the burglaries were able to identify McKenzie through CCTV and the use of the victim's stolen bank cards.

PC Melissa Buckley from Southampton's Western Investigation Team said: 

"McKenzie has deliberately targeted the elderly and vulnerable in society, she has distracted and confused them in their own homes, for her own gain.

"The impact of this criminality on these ladies and their families is immeasurable. McKenzie's sentence will end, the sentence for these women will never end."