A PROLIFIC thief offered an apology to one of his victims from the dock at Bolton Crown Court before he was jailed for 44 months

Slovakian-born Miroslav Lakatos, aged 28, of Willows Lane, Deane, appeared for sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of theft, one of attempted burglary and one of failing to appear before court while on bail.

Judge Richard Gioserano had heard details of the cases against Lakatos, including a witness impact statement from former Royal Logistics Corp soldier Geoffrey Willis.

Mr Willis, aged 73, was robbed of his wallet containing £100 by Lakatos and another man while out shopping with his wife Margaret at Bolton market last April.

Prosecuting, Duncan Wilcock read out some of Mr Willis’s statement in which he said: “The whole incident has made be feel more vulnerable and scared. I spent most of my life in the services abroad. When I was serving in Northern Ireland, I was injured in an explosion which killed my colleague.

“I have seen and done most things and I think the theft has had the biggest effect on me.

“I don’t have a very large pension and we live on a very strict budget and losing that £100 had a massive impact.”

During the sentencing Mr Willis was seen mouthing in Arabic to Lakatos ‘As-salamu alaykum’ (Peace be Upon You) which only came after the defendant mouthed ‘sorry’ several times towards the former soldier.

As Judge Gioserano was about to retire to consider his sentence, Mr Willis asked him if there was any opportunity to speak to Lakatos.

Judge Gioserano said he had seen Lakatos’s attempt at an apology from the dock to his victim and like his early admissions of guilty to the five charges, he would take it into account.

Earlier, the court was told that the first offence took place January 6, 2016 in Marks and Spencers in Bolton when a woman in her 30s found herself being trailed very closely by Lakatos, who had managed to snatch her purse from an open handbag on her trolley.

When she realised her purse had gone she followed him out of the store. CCTV images captured him dropping the purse and he was identified and arrested by police.

Two days later, and while out on police bail, he stole £400, a mobile phone, bank cards and keys from a mother pushing her seven-month-old baby around Bolton covered market.

Later the same day two men, including the defendant, went into a mobile phone shop asking for a charger for a mobile. By chance, the brother of the woman who had been robbed saw the phone, which was still showing a wallpaper photo of his sister and her baby.

After a struggle the phone was wrested back from the pair, who fled after saying they had found the phone and would hand it back for £15.

In a victim impact statement the woman said the loss of the £400 had left her without money for food and she had fallen behind with bills and rent.

On July 19, Lakatos targeted elderly person’s accommodation and an 80-year-old man who had been in his wheelchair in the garden when he asked for a glass of water. The man refused and went inside to take a rest and a short time later Lakatos entered man’s flat. A fingerprint belonging to Lakatos was later found on a money box.

Defending, Mr Hunter Gray said: “Mr Lakatos has the most worrying pattern of offending but he is not the most prolific offender to come before the court. He has been seen mouthing an apology in court to Mr Willis and he has told me he is happy to make a full apology to him for his actions.”

Sentencing Lakatos, Judge Gioserano heard that he had six convictions involving nine incidents, which included theft from elderly people including a 77-year-old in Aldi, a 76-year-old in Asda and an 89-year-old woman in August 2015 for which he was given a 15-week prison sentence.

Sentencing him, the judge said: “You have a record of previous convictions and they are largely for offences of theft and it means it will aggravate your situation.

“You have not only stolen from people out and about, but from the elderly, and who, in my opinion you see as an easy target. With the latest offices you are involved with elderly victims because you see them as vulnerable.”

Lakatos was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment for the attempted burglary, two months for the January 6, 2016, four months for the January 23, 2016 theft, and six months for the theft of Mr Willis’s wallet.

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120.