A violent Brondesbury thief has been jailed for 19 years for a spate of distraction burglaries targeting vulnerable elderly people in their own homes.
Troy Benjamin, 39, of Mowbray Road, preyed on old people living in Cricklewood, Willesden and Harlesden in a series of burglaries with his accomplice, John Wall.
In one incident Benjamin was stabbed in the arm by a neighbour who heard an old lady scream when both men raided her bedroom while she was asleep.
Harrow Crown Court heard the pair approached a house in Howard Road on September 20, their first burglary, telling an elderly man there had been a leak next door and asking to check there was no flooding in his property.
While one thief pretended to check the kitchen taps, the second suspect searched upstairs, taking a quantity of cash before both left.
A similar raid was carried out six days later at the home of an elderly woman in St Albans Road, Harlesden.
She was putting out her bins when they told her they were there to check her boiler.
On October 5, in Oaklands Road, Harlesden, an elderly woman was woke to see Benjamin and Wall in her bedroom, searching through her wardrobe.
She told them that she had no money. A neighbour heard her shouts for help and confronted Benjamin, stabbing his left arm, police said.
Benjamin was sentenced yesterday after being found guilty of six distraction burglaries and one count of GBH.
Wall, 44, of Halliwick Road, Muswell Hill, was jailed for six years 10 months and disqualified from driving for 70 months after pleading guilty to the same six burglaries and dangerous driving offences.
The investigation by the Met's North West CID involved in-depth telephone analysis.
Det Con Parminder Ahluwalia, said: "This was a despicable series of burglaries with both men cowardly targeting elderly residents before tricking their way into properties to steal items, as well as using violence against a neighbour who tried to help his friend.
"We are pleased that the sentences they have been given reflect their callous actions and we hope the victims can now begin to leave this bad episode in their lives behind them knowing these two men are locked up in prison for the foreseeable future."
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