The second of two people who stole cash savings from a vulnerable victim in Ramsgate has been jailed.
Paris Campbell-Mitchell distracted Terry Price, who was in his 60s and suffering from a terminal illness, while Mark Queen burgled his property in November 2022.
Queen took £3,000 in cash which the victim had been saving to cover the costs of his funeral. Terry has sadly since passed away from illness.
Queen, 32, and Campbell-Mitchell, 26, were tracked down by East Kent Criminal Investigation Department and were arrested the same month.
Campbell-Mitchell, formerly of Victoria Road, Ramsgate, was jailed for two years, 10 months at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday 15 September after admitting burglary at an earlier hearing.
Queen, formerly of Gordon Road, Margate, was jailed for three years, four months at the same court for the same offence in February this year.
The offence took place on the afternoon of Saturday 12 November 2022, when Campbell-Mitchell visited Terry, who was known to her, and convinced him to go shopping with her.
While she and Terry were out, Queen entered the property in Leopold Road and emptied a cash box beside his bed of all of its contents.
Messages recovered by police during the ensuing investigation showed Campbell-Mitchell asking Queen: ‘How much you got?’. He replied: ‘Dead on 3’, believed to refer to the £3,000.
When she was arrested on Friday 25 November, Campbell-Mitchell was found in possession of £300 in cash, as well as a recently-purchased iPad and Nintendo Switch.
Queen attempted to evade arresting officers by jumping out of the window of a property in Margate three days later. He failed to get away and was detained nearby.
Terry, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2019, was met with a huge surge of support by the public with a fundraiser, set up by his neighbour Zoe Norman, smashing through the £500 target to raise more than £8000.
The former market trader, who also suffered with arthritis, decided to donate some of the funds to an animal charity.
The 66-year-old dad passed away on Thursday January 12.
Investigating officer PC Joshua O’Donnell said: ‘This was a despicable offence committed against a man who was very sadly in the final weeks of his life.
‘I am sad he did not live to hear that those who committed the offence have been sent to prison, but I know he appreciated the help and support offered to him by the local community following the burglary.
‘Kent Police is committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of society and our officers will follow every line of enquiry to bring offenders of this kind to justice.’
