Leeds student burgled family home leaving children scared to sleep alone

A Leeds student has been jailed for two years after breaking into a family’s home in Chapeltown, leaving two children scared to sleep alone.

Trimmane Clarke, of Baldovan Terrace, Chapeltown, broke into the family’s home during the early hours of 22^nd September, stealing a laptop and a gold bracelet valued at £250.

According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Clarke, 34, a business and tourism student at the Global Banking School in Leeds, was due to start his final year of university in January 2025.

The victims of the burglary included a father of two young children. The father had reportedly put his daughters to bed earlier that night, before going to bed himself.

At 3.20am, the occupier went downstairs and discovered the front door was open, through which Clarke had fled the premises.

To break into the home, Clarke used a chair to climb in through an open window. His fingerprints were later found on the inside of the family’s kitchen window, leading to his arrest.

In a victim impact statement, the father explained how his children were now terrified of being left alone and had even taken to hiding their toys due to their fear of Clarke returning.

The family now sleep together in the same room for comfort.

Clarke had previously been handed a 16-week suspended sentence for possession of a bladed article in February. The burglary put him in breach of that sentence.

Clarke appeared in court via video link from HMP Lincoln, where he had been held on remand.

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Mitigating for Clarke, Andrea Parnham said Clarke, originally from the Turks and Caicos Islands in the West Indies, had come to the UK in 2021 to study at the Global Banking School in Leeds.

After completing two years of his degree and working part-time as a chef, Clarke was hoping to start his final year in January 2025. Ms Parnham said “everything was going great” until his relationship with his partner broke down.

Following the break-up, Clarke started drinking heavily and became homeless, sleeping in his car or sofa surfing at friends’ homes.

Ms Parnham also added the burglary was “opportunistic”, with Clarke having been in search of food and coming across an open kitchen window. Upon entering the house, Clarke ended up taking more than he initially intended.

However, Judge Richard Mansell KC rejected this, saying that the break-in was not a spontaneous decision and that Clarke was seeking unsecured properties to burgle.

Judge Mansell sentenced Clarke to two years in prison.

Featured image via West Yorkshire Police