A teenager stole from his victims as they slept after creeping into their homes during the night.
Kelvin Franklin targeted two homes in Wirral over the summer, stealing a phone, a car and cash from those who lived there.
The 18-year-old entered an Upton home in late July and took a quantity of cash from the house.
In early August, Franklin gained entry to a home in West Kirby before stealing keys for a Toyota Yaris and making off with the car and a phone.
He was arrested in Cheshire a few weeks later, before getting charged and later found guilty of the two burglaries.
Franklin, of Water Street in Egremont, was sentenced to 24 months in a Young Offenders Institution at Liverpool Crown Court.
Detective Inspector Steve Ball, who heads the Operation Castle team, spoke after sentencing: “This is a pleasing result and removes from the streets an individual in Franklin who was responsible for two burglary offences earlier this year, both of which caused understandable upset and distress to the victims.
"Hopefully this period behind bars will act as a deterrent to any future criminal activity, and Franklin will reflect upon the harm he has caused.
“Being a victim of burglary can cause a massive impact to the lives of those targeted, and we’re determined to keep such positive results coming.
“We regularly act on information from those communities affects, so come forward if you know anything about suspected burglary and the sale of stolen goods where you are. We’ll act on all information provided.
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"Due to the focussed activity of Operation Castle and the impact of COVID, burglary offences have decreased across Merseyside this year, and we’ll continue to work proactively with communities and our partners to keep this progress going.”
Always call 999 if a burglary is in progress.
Anyone with information on burglary is asked to contact our dedicated hotline and email address on 0151 777 7926 or operation.castle@merseyside.pnn.police.uk.
You can also pass information to the social media desk @MerPolCC, call 101 or you can call or the independent charity @CrimestoppersUK anonymously, on 0800 555 111. #OpCastle and #BeatTheBurglar
