NEWS: Trickster receives jail sentence for crimes against elderly

David Pamula, 33 and of Bournemouth, was handed a three-year jail term at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday 8 April 2016 after pleading guilty to burglary and breach of bail at a previous hearing.

The court heard that on Sunday 17 January 2016 Pamula targeted the home of a vulnerable man aged in his 80s at an address in the Turlin Moor area. The victim has limited hearing and is visited a number of times a day by carers.

At 4.45pm a carer arrived and discovered a man standing in the lounge talking to the victim. The man asked the carer who he was and then casually left the property. The victim said the man had been knocking on the door claiming he didn’t know the code for the keysafe outside. The victim assumed he was a carer and let him into the property, the court heard. 

The victim’s daughter was alerted to the incident and visited her father the following day when she discovered jewellery was missing from a box in the bedroom. She contacted the police. Investigating officers found fingerprints on a mug which had been moved from one of the boxes that was emptied in the bedroom. The prints matched those of David Pamula.

On Friday 29 January 2016 Pamula was arrested. He admitted stealing the jewellery and disposing of it in the sea. Pamula was charged and bailed by the courts after being given a tag and curfew which he subsequently cut off and breached his bail. 

The day before he was due to be sentenced, officers arrested Pamula at an address in the Triangle area of Bournemouth. He was found hiding inside a sofa bed.

Detective Constable Symon Clarke, of Dorset Police’s Priority Crime Team, said: “David Pamula preyed on a vulnerable elderly man in the very place he should have been safe. Dorset Police will fully investigate these types of crimes and we will do everything we can to ensure we get the right evidence for a successful prosecution and conviction.

“I would like to remind elderly residents in Dorset not to open their doors to anyone they do not know. If you are unsure, always ask for ID and don’t be worried about asking the visitor to wait for a few minutes while you call to check their validity.”

 Judge Johnson told Pamula that the case was one of the most despicable burglaries he had dealt with and handed him a 3 year prison sentence.