A MAN WHO stole a kitten on Christmas Day to give to his mother has been jailed for 15 weeks.
James Boyce, a 31-year-old homeless man, pleaded guilty at West London Magistrates Court last week to stealing a kitten from his mother’s neighbour and making threats towards the neighbour.
The court heard that Boyce had given his mother the grey 10-month-old cat for Christmas last December, saying he had bought the kitten from a pet shop.
However later that day, his mother’s neighbour reported a burglary at her flat during which her grey kitten called Mercy had been stolen.
Police officers entered the flat belonging to Boyce’s mother and found Boyce in bed asleep with the kitten beside him.
Mercy was returned to her owner and Boyce was arrested for residential burglary and threatening behaviour.
He was sentenced to serve 15 weeks imprisonment concurrently at a hearing.
A police officer involved in the case said the cat had not been harmed and had been returned to her owner.
“We take all reports of burglary very seriously and were able to act quickly to identify the culprit in this case,” said Detective Constable Yogini Patel of the London Metropolitan Police.
“Mercy the cat has made a full recovery and is now helping to control smaller local pests in his happy home”.
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