A "petrified" 66-year-old man was burgled by a younger woman he believed he was in a relationship with.
Jaydee Ashton, 35, and her crooked pals made off with cash, a debit card, driving licence, prescription medication and a mobile phone.
Ashton, 35, who lived upstairs in the tower block in Margate, Kent, raided the flat accompanied by Ricky Norman, 38, and 37-year-old Terry Norman.
CCTV recorded the trio leaving her flat while wearing face masks during the early hours of Thursday, February 9.
She then knocked on their target’s door and was invited in after she said she wished to pay back a small loan.
But once inside, she unlocked the door and was swiftly joined by the two other men.
Ricky Norman also lives in the block of flats while Terry Norman is from Ramsgate in Kent.
The victim immediately sought refuge inside the kitchen and blocked the door.
The man, a painter and decorator, had believed that he and Ashton had been in a relationship for the past six weeks.
Ali Dewji, prosecuting, told Canterbury Crown Court: “He saw something shiny and metallic in the hands of one of the men, which he feared was a weapon.”
Although the victim, who hasn’t been named, did not wish to submit an impact statement, the prosecutor added: “He was completely petrified”.
CCTV positioned in the tower block’s corridor recorded the moment the trio fled the home shortly after midnight.
Ashton rushed to her own flat while the men used Terry Norman’s convertible VW Golf to make a getaway.
But a police probe would later reveal the car was registered to his home address, where the police discovered some of the stolen items.
All three defendants pleaded guilty to burglary.
The court heard that the gang suffered drug addiction and trauma from an early age, which was the driving force behind their actions.
Ashton’s barrister told the Judge, Recorder Stuart Trimmer KC: “She is very sorry to [him] for the obvious harm she caused him on that day.”
Judge Trimmer handed down three years’ custody to each defendant, while activating a seven-month suspended sentence for Ashton and 18-week suspended sentence for Ricky Norman.
The lawyers argued the burglary was unplanned, with the gang initially going to the address to retrieve some of Ashton’s belongings.
They claimed the defendants decided to burgle spontaneously while inside the address.
But the judge threw out their claims and said that “significant planning” was involved, with “the female being the reason why the victim opened the door.”
He told Ashton: “You are primarily involved in the way in which this comes about”.
