Albanian burglars jailed after raiding footballer Scott Hogan's home and Blackpool properties
Two Albanian burglars have been jailed after carrying out a series of raids which included the home of a professional footballer and addresses in Blackpool.
Denis Puka, 28, and Erisjan Laska, 29, were each sentenced to 56 months in prison after admitting conspiracy to commit burglary following a three-night break-in spree last June.
Chester Crown Court heard the pair, along with a third unidentified man, targeted seven properties between June 5 and 7.
Two of the addresses were in Blackpool, where homes were searched while victims slept upstairs. Nothing was stolen in those incidents.
Judge Steven Everett, the Honorary Recorder of Chester, described the operation as “sophisticated and well-planned”.
The group booked an Airbnb in Warrington and travelled from outside the area to use it as a base.
They used a Seat Leon transported from Sheffield which was fitted with false registration plates and equipped themselves with masks, tools and walkie-talkies.
Among the targets was the Northwich home of Milton Keynes Dons striker Scott Hogan.
The former Aston Villa and Birmingham City forward was woken by torchlight shining into his bedroom at around 11.30pm on June 7.
His pregnant wife and young daughter were inside the property at the time.
Prosecutor Nardeen Nemat told the court the men climbed into the garden, with one standing on another’s shoulders to reach a bedroom window.
Mr Hogan chased the intruders as they fled.
Nothing was taken, but the footballer later installed a new security system.
In a victim statement read to the court, he said the incident had led to “many sleepless nights full of stress and anxiety” and had a dramatic effect on his family.
On the second night of offending the group struck properties in Grappenhall, Knutsford and Northwich.
They were disturbed at two addresses but stole a Breitling and a Rolex watch worth £9,000 from a mansion whose owners were on holiday.
The court heard the men later bought crowbars from a Warrington DIY store before attempting two further burglaries, fleeing when disturbed at one address before targeting Mr Hogan’s home.
They were identified after the Seat Leon was recovered more than a week later on a housing estate in Warrington.
Inside officers found mobile phones, clothing worn during the raids, tools and the false number plates.
Sentencing them, Judge Everett told the pair their actions were “selfish and despicable” and had caused significant trauma to victims.
Laska, of Eccles Street, Sheffield, and Puka, of Parliament Street, Crediton, Devon, had both pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
Pc Simon Gibson of Cheshire Constabulary said the pair had “seriously underestimated” police.
He said the strength of evidence gathered by officers led to the guilty pleas and convictions following extensive CCTV work to trace the offenders.