A loft insulation surveyor stole highly valuable jewellery from the homes of elderly and vulnerable customers out of “heartless greed”.
Stuart McAllister, a former Para and Falklands War veteran, was branded a “disgrace” by a judge for his “mean and callous” crimes committed over three months last year.
Stuart McAllister, from Sandwich, stole jewellery from elderly customers while working as a loft insulation surveyor
He was told that while thieving he had given “not one ounce of consideration” to his victims as he was “only interested in “ounces of gold”.
Canterbury Crown Court heard that under the guise of his professional job, the 61-year-old gained the trust of his customers before “rapidly identifying” items to steal.
They included rings, bracelets and a necklace, with much of his loot holding both high monetary and sentimental worth.
On his eventual arrest, police found two pieces of jewellery stuffed in a chewing gum packet, £4,000 cash in his partner’s handbag, and multiple phone messages referring to selling gold and transferring money from bank accounts.
There was also evidence that he pocketed around £9,000 in cash from his dealings with pawnbrokers and retailers.
One piece of jewellery he stole was said to have been so valuable that when the owner had taken it to be cleaned prior to its theft, a jeweller refused as it exceeded their insurance.
McAllister, of Strand Street, Sandwich, admitted three offences of burglary committed on April 23 last year, between May 19 and 31, and between June 11 and June 26.
At the ex-serviceman’s sentencing hearing on Friday, the court heard his visits to his victims’ homes in Dover and Hythe were scheduled appointments where he inspected lofts and discussed insulation options and costs.
But prosecutor Ben Irwin said the crook’s work also “went beyond that”.
“What he did was enter private areas of those homes – areas he was not permitted to enter and typically bedrooms – and he stole jewellery,” he explained.
Stuart McAllister, from Sandwich, was described as a “disgrace” by a judge. Picture: Kent Police
“Many of the victims were not entirely aware that their sentimentally-held jewellery had been taken, and only became aware when they went to look for it, and then realised they had in fact been burgled.”
On one occasion, he had left the property, only to return, ask to use the toilet and then steal a gold chain and attached coin worth £3,700.
The owner had left the “hugely” sentimental and irreplaceable gift from her husband – one she had “cherished” for more than 30 years – beside her bed.
She later told police she felt “stupid” for letting McAllister into her home, and described his deceit as having left her “absolutely devastated and vulnerable”.
His second victim was targeted when he visited her home following on from a call from his company.
While at the property McAllister even had the gall to admire war medals on display while talking about being in the Armed Forces himself.
He also appeared “somewhat nervous” and had arrived in a “tatty” van, said Mr Irwin.
He stayed for several hours and the insulation work was carried out. But some time later a sapphire and diamond yellow gold ring, worth £500 when gifted 20 years ago, could not be found.
Mr Irwin said the owner’s first thought was that she had “misplaced” it, but later realised a second ring was also missing.
Next to the box in which it had been kept was a dry, white mark which, the prosecutor added, appeared similar to the insulation foam used by McAllister.
“You are a disgrace and should be thoroughly ashamed of your actions committed in pursuit of heartless greed…”
Again, the jewellery was described as “irreplaceable” and the owner left very upset.
“She couldn’t provide a monetary value but knew it was significant and that that didn’t account for the sentimental value,” said Mr Irwin.
McAllister only spent about 30 minutes in the home of his final victim but in that relatively brief time pinched two gold bracelets.
The court heard the grandfather was arrested when his firm’s appointment schedules were checked by police and he was revealed to be the “common factor”.
He was also linked to the properties through phone data, CCTV and ANPR cameras but gave a ‘no comment’ interview.
The two rings discovered inside the chewing gum pot were returned to the rightful owner.
As well as serving in the Falklands with the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment in his late teens, McAllister was also deployed to Northern Ireland in 1984.
The court was told his experiences had left him with “survivor’s guilt” and a PTSD diagnosis.
But Ben Gordon, defending, said the dad of three, who has previous convictions for theft, battery and harassment, “genuinely and repeatedly hangs his head in shame” for his latest criminal conduct.
He explained the homeowners were not specifically selected by McAllister but that he “spontaneously and impulsively” took advantage of the opportunity to steal.
Stuart McAllister, from Sandwich, is a Falklands War veteran
He told the court however that the defendant was well paid, owned his own home and was not in any “obvious or urgent” financial difficulties at the time. McAllister was unable to explain the reason for his offending other than “a possible aspect of self-destructive or self-sabotaging” behaviour.
Offering what was described as an “unreserved and fulsome” apology to the victims on McAllister’s behalf, Mr Gordon added: “As a man who spent his youth occupying dutiful service for his country in the armed forces and in combat, it is with great and profound regret that some of his subsequent conduct, and in particular those burglaries, have disgraced that honourable service.”
McAllister stood with his head bowed in the dock as he was jailed for three years.
Judge Edmund Fowler told him that in targeting customers and using his employment as a ruse, his conduct had left the victims “stressed, panicked, angry and devastated”.
“These were mean offences against vulnerable people for whom you gave not one ounce of consideration. The only ounces you were interested in were gold ones,” he said.
“It was callous. You are a disgrace and should be thoroughly ashamed of your actions committed in pursuit of heartless greed.”
A confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act will be held later this year.
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Stuart McAllister and has yet to come forward should report it through the Kent Police website, quoting ‘Op Chedworth’.