Ipswich: Bungling criminal jailed after accidentally sending his picture from stolen phone

IPSWICH: A bungling criminal who was caught after sending a photo of himself on a stolen Blackberry phone by mistake is today starting a prison term.

Jace Ennis was caught after friends of the victim received the photo, identified the 23-year-old and reported the crime to the police.

Ennis, of Chesterton Close, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods.

The charge relates to using the stolen device after it was taken from a man in Ipswich on October 30.

Ennis denied a charge of robbery which relates to the same incident, but admitted breaching a suspended sentence for possessing a bladed article.

Ennis was given eight months for the stolen goods offence and a further four months for breaching the suspended sentence.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk Police said: “We received a call from the person who was robbed of the Blackberry to say that the phone’s account had been activated under a new name.

“Friends of the victim had seen a photograph sent via a messenger service and identified the gentleman in the picture as Mr Ennis.

“The victim believed that the phone had not had his list of contacts removed after it was stolen and the photo appears to have been sent to people on that list by mistake.”

Sentencing Ennis, Judge John Holt told him he would serve at least half of his sentence in prison and the remaining amount would be suspended.

Ennis was previously jailed for 16 months in 2009 for stealing �2,700 worth of property from an Ipswich home while the occupants were asleep.

The stolen items from the home in Tuddenham Road included �445 in cash, �45 worth of tokens, two mobile phones, a digital camera, a laptop computer, a purse, a handbag and bank cards.

n Do you think this sentence was fair? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.