Oldham burglar 'facing deportation' after targeting bungalow

Daniel Kardos, 31, was tracked down via his fingerprints after burgling the house in Halliwell in April 2018.

Bolton Crown Court heard how his victim had been living alone when she went to bed the night Kardos and his unnamed co-conspirator arrived.

Prosecutor Kate Gaskell said: “At about 1.30am she went to the bathroom and found that the door was slightly ajar.”

Dressed in a dark blue Puffa jacket and listening through a Hungarian interpreter, Kardos looked on impassively from the dock as Ms Gaskell told the court what was taken.

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

A handbag containing a mobile phone, bank cards, £220 in cash and a bus pass were all taken.

The court heard Kardos had acted as a lookout at the Halliwell bungalow while his unnamed associate took what was inside.

Months after the burglary itself the victim received letters from loan management companies showing that her card had been used for “nefarious purposes.”

Seemingly having escaped justice Kardos, of Fearnley Avenue, Chadderton, was finally linked to the burglary thanks to forensic analysis more than four years later in June 2022.

He was arrested in August of that year and at first claimed that he hadn’t even been in the UK at the time.

It was later confirmed that he had in fact been in the country since 2017 and had already been convicted twice for dishonesty offences in his native Hungary.

Since the 2018 burglary he had clocked up another five convictions for nine offences in the UK.

Kardos continued to deny his crime when brought before the courts but changed his plea to guilty to dwelling house burglary before a trial could take place.

Emma Clarke, defending, said that the 31-year-old was entitled to credit for having pleaded guilty and told the court the burglary was committed “entirely on impulse.”

She said: “The defendant’s account of the offence is that he was heavily in drink at the time.”

She added: “On his account, he doesn’t remember what happened.”

Ms Clarke told the court that Kardos had been left deeply stressed about his possible deportation from the country but wished to express his “profound apology.”

She said: “He knows he is highly likely to be deported as a result of this.”

Judge Jon Close accepted Kardos’s guilty plea had earned him credit but reminded him of the long-lasting impact his actions had had on his victim.

He said: “Your victim lived alone in a bungalow, and this was a night time entry as she slept.”

He added: “I note that you were identified because your fingerprints were found that shows your proximity to the address.”

Judge Close also noted reports that said since his arrested Kardos had “demonstrated worryingly aggressive attitudes towards female authority figures.”

He jailed Kardos for a year and 10 months.