A clumsy burglar has been jailed after stealing a car with a tracker in it.
Dominic Francis, 23, had denied one charge of burglary and one of taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent after a stolen car was found at an address in Loughton.
The owner of an Audi Q5 reported it missing from his home in Summerfields, Sible Hedingham, at 8am on November 21, 2014.
A tracker in the car was activated and police followed it to the Epping Forest address where they found the Audi and a Ford Focus that had been stolen from an address in Braintree, six days earlier.
He denied both charges but the bungling burglar left a bottle of fizzy drink inside the Focus which carried his DNA.
And, CCTV images showed both vehicles were at a petrol station in Stansted on November 21 and Francis driving the Audi.
Francis, of High Street North, Newham, was sentenced to three years in jail for burglary and 12 weeks for taking the vehicle, to run concurrently.
He was found guilty by a jury following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday, July 29.
Investigating officer Dc Christopher Sedgwick, of Braintree CID, said: "I am pleased with the sentence handed out by the judge.
"It serves as a warning to burglars that we will catch you and put you before the courts.”
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