Cross-county burglar jailed for three years

Good CCTV and the use of the national DNA database helped police jail a serial burglar wanted for offences across three counties.

Aleksandre Kitesovi, 42 (DOB: 18/03/1982), of no fixed address, was jailed for three years and four months at Chichester Crown Court on Friday, 11 October after he was found guilty of three counts of burglary and one attempted burglary. It follows an investigation by Surrey Police, in coordination with Hampshire Constabulary and Hertfordshire Police.

The offences for which he was convicted for stretched back to 30 August 2023, with a burglary at an address in Whitchurch, Hampshire. An estimated £30,000 of jewellery and £700 in cash was stolen. CCTV images showed an unknown man approach the address – first bare-faced, then returning a few minutes later wearing a facemask and gloves.

Just two days later a man in a facemask broke into a home in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. The occupants woke up and the intruder fled out of a bathroom window, but not before leaving his facemask and a cap behind. These provided police with valuable DNA evidence which was uploaded onto the national DNA database, though there was still no sample to match it against.

Two weeks later, there was an attempted burglary in Guildford when a man was captured on video doorbell footage outside an address, trying to open a door, before moving off. Officers in Surrey recognised that it was the same male seen in CCTV from the Whitchurch offence, but his identity remained a mystery.

On 22 September 2023, he struck again in Hampshire, this time leaving DNA on a kitchen window handle at an address in Hook.

Kitesovi was arrested in London in November 2023, at which point his DNA was added to the National Database. When his DNA was matched to the crime scenes in Hampshire and Hertfordshire officers finally had a name for their suspect and when they viewed his Custody Photo, they realised he was also the male in the footage from the other offences.

Surrey Police’s Investigating officer, Richard Ashton, said: “Criminals may think that by moving around across county lines they increase their odds of avoiding detection when actually they are simply increasing the number of people out to get them.

“Thanks to the joint working of three forces and the sharing of intelligence and evidence on national systems, we were able to identify Kitesovi as being the man responsible for multiple offences and put him before the courts.”

Detective Constable Steve Jakes, from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Northern Area Crime Team, said: “We received reports of two burglaries in our area and following a number of enquiries, it transpired that this was a cross-border investigation involving a number of forces.

“All forces have the same common goal, to protect the public and bring offenders to justice. In this case, three forces were able to work together and share information in a timely fashion.

“Thanks to this collaboration, my team was able to charge Aleksandre Kitesovi with two counts of burglary relating to incidents in Hampshire.

“Each force then presented a substantial amount of evidence ahead of the trial and this result highlights how working together can bring justice for multiple victims in different areas of the country.

“Breaking into someone’s home and stealing their property is an intrusive crime which causes immeasurable distress to its victims, and we do not underestimate the impact that this has on those who are affected.

“We work really hard to ensure that those who commit these crimes face the consequences of their actions.”