Preston man shot neighbour's window and climbed inside

Dale Thomason, 27, of Ainslie Road, Fulwood, Preston, committed the offence in the middle of a burglary spree in November 2020, for which he is now serving two years and four months in jail.

Prosecuting at Lancaster's Nightingale Court, Holly Nelson said the incident happened at around 3.10am on November 4, 2020, in Tennyson Road, Preston.

She said a neighbour of Thomason's returned home to find his front window had been smashed and a brick was found amid the broken glass inside the property.

Within five minutes Thomason attended at the back of the address and told the man to let him in.

He refused to, due to "dealings" with him the previous day.

The man then saw Thomason had a black gun in his right hand and shot a metal ball bearing through the window, before climbing in - wearing the victim's clothes.

The victim asked how he had got his clothes, to which Thomason replied he "came in because he was cold".

The court heard police were alerted, and when a PC searched Thomason he felt something metal.

Miss Nelson said: " He immediately grabbed the defendant's right arm to prevent him pulling the gun towards him.

"He began to resist arrest, leading to his colleague using a police dog to subdue him."

In a victim statement the officer described fearing for their lives, not knowing at the time it was an imitation firearm.

When Thomason was further searched two ball bearings were found in his trousers.

The criminal, who has 39 convictions for 67 offences, has since admitted possessing an imitation firearm in a public place.

The court heard he was taken to hospital, and just days after the incident he committed burglaries.

He was linked to two of the crimes after he accidentally left a can of Stella Artois beer in one victims' bedroom, and a can of Coke at another house - leading to DNA hits.

Recorder Mark Ainsworth ordered him to serve two months on top of his current jail term.

He said: " It is a matter of regret that this was not dealt with earlier.

"It now follows that I must deal with this matter separately from the hearing that took place in March this year.

"Indeed you discharged a pellet from the gun.

"The matter was reported to the police and the police saw you some hours later, and one can imagine what was going through the minds of the officers as they realised you had a gun in your possession.

"Such items can and do cause real fears to members of the public."

​The Lancashire Post is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. For unlimited access to Lancashire news and information online, you can subscribe here.