A self-confessed 'scumbag' with 138 burglary offences produced false employment emails and dressed up in work uniforms for probation appointments in a bid to avoid jail, a court heard.
Peter Everall, from Haslingden, was given a chance to stay out of prison and 'go straight' after he was convicted in January of targeting two primary schools and a recycling business.
Judge Philip Parry questioned whether he was 'mad' in deferring sentence of the 45-year-old gambling addict following 'persuasive and powerful' mitigation by his defence barrister.
A previous hearing heard that Everall was driven back to crime because of Universal Credit problems and he was trying to support a son with motor neurone disease.
He had previously told Burnley Crown Court that he was trying to put his 30-year criminal career behind him and ‘go straight’, but was left desperate and returned to “the only thing he knew”.
His defence said at the time: “In his own words he’s been a scumbag his whole life but was trying his best and then he’s taken off at the knees by a benefit system which seems to set people up to fail.”
Everall was tasked by Judge Parry with staying out of trouble for two months and securing employment to avoid an immediate two-year prison sentence.
However he was hauled back to Preston Crown Court on Thursday (April 4) after he 'lied' to the probation service about his work status.
The court was told that Everall, 45, produced bogus emails 'riddled' with spelling and punctuation errors purporting to be from a recruitment agent named Grace Smith.
He also attended probation service appointments dressed in work uniforms in a bid to deceive his offender manager and stay out of prison.
Everall was rumbled when they contacted the Big Bear Confectionery factory in Blackburn and the shift manager confirmed he was not employed there.
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The probation service also received confirmation from the defendant's family that he was not employed and 'spent his time at home'.
An offender manager report read out at court stated: “Mr Everall makes it appear that he is engaging, however he can be deceitful as evidenced by his insistence that he was employed when in fact he was not, going so far as to attend appointments in work uniforms to make it seem more truthful.
“An email was sent to Grace Smith but a reply was sent which raised eyebrows as it did not seem to be from a professional agency at all.”
Everall's deferred sentence was due to go ahead on March 21, however he failed to attend court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
His defence barrister Chris Richards said Everall insists the work emails are genuine and that he was in employment at factories in Accrington and Blackburn.
He told the court: “I have very firm instructions from Mr Everall that he has been gainfully employed between January 11 [when the sentence was deferred] and the present day.
“I also have very firm instructions that the emails are genuine. He said he does have other evidence of his employment including wage slips but they cannot be produced immediately today.
“He failed to attend court on the last occasion as he thought he would receive an inevitable custodial sentence.
“He took fright and took flight. He lived for a while in the Cheshire area sleeping rough and was living in squalor.”
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Judge Philip Parry said Everall, of Hud Rake, Haslingden, had 'outright lied' about his employment and that the emails were 'false'.
The court heard that the defendant has 100 convictions for 277 previous offences, including 138 for burglaries and attempted burglaries of homes and businesses.
Sentencing Everall to two years in prison, Judge Parry said: “I'm not at all satisfied that you had secured employment and I'm satisfied you have lied about it in order to avoid a two-year prison sentence I promised awaited you if you didn't regain employment.
“Your antecedents are absolutely appalling. You have shown a complete unwillingness to reform and refrain from further dishonesty offences.
“Trying to set you on the straight and narrow has completely fallen flat and failed.”
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