Repeat offender jailed for lockdown burglary

Tuesday 06 July 2021

A 35-year-old man who has a long and "appalling record" of burglary and robbery has been sent back to Les Nicolles Prison for breaking into Stonelakes Pharmacy during lockdown and plundering thousands of pills.

Kyle Henderson, 35, was sentenced to four years in prison for burglary and six counts of drug possession.

The defendant had previously burgled the Bridge Pharmacy in 2003 and was jailed in 2018 for robbing Boots Pharmacy in Town.

It was around 22:30 on Sunday 14 February 2021 that CCTV captured Henderson breaking into the pharmacy building through a perspex roofing sheet and spending around an hour inside, looking through medication and choosing what to take.

Earlier that evening, he had been seen hanging around the building and scouting out a way in.

When the superintendent pharmacist arrived for work at 07:30 the following morning and entered the second dispensary, he found that a safe had been broken into, with the door ajar and its contents plundered. Other medication was found strewn across the floor. 

Pictured: Kyle Henderson appeared in Guernsey's Royal Court on Monday 5 July. 

There was a 15 by 22 inch hole in the roof because of the burglary and it had rained overnight, which led to significant water ingress and further supplies being ruined. The police were called and the pharmacist said that a number of Class B and C substances - including Codine, Diazepam and Clonazepam - were missing. 

Having viewed the CCTV, officers came across Henderson walking along Les Banques just a short while later and stopped him as his appearance and clothing matched that shown on the surveillance footage. 

He was carrying a "bulging" rucksack - which he claimed to have "found" at the Bridge and "picked up" - and was arrested. Thousands of loose tablets were found in a carrier bag inside the rucksack matching the outline of those reported missing, while codine was found inside his wallet.

His clothing was seized and the design and markings of those worn by the man in the footage matched exactly the clothing Henderson was wearing at the time of his arrest.

He ultimately pleaded guilty. In total, the Court was told that more that 4,500 tablets had been stolen. 

These had been valued by Stonelakes at £2,635. With roof repairs needed and an insurance excess having to be paid, they estimated the burglary had cost them £3,745. 

Pictured: Kyle Henderson has returned to Les Nicolles, where he has been remanded in custody since 15 February 2021. 

Defence Advocate Sam Steel noted his client's extensive criminal record, which saw him burgle the same pharmacy in 2003. In 2018, Henderson was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for his masked robbery of Boots Pharmacy in Town, during which he "shoulder-barged" a staff member out the way to get to the medication. 

No such force had been used on this occasion, Advocate Steel told the Court. He said his client had drunk half a litre of vodka and was reeling emotionally at the time, believing a personal relationship was over. 

"He was drunk and upset," said Advocate Steel. "At the time he felt desperately in need of Diazepam to numb the pain."

The defence lawyer said Henderson had first become dependent on drugs "at the tender age of 11" and urged the court to note that his offending his inextricably linked to a chaotic childhood and long-standing mental health problems. 

Speaking following the Court's verdict, Judge Catherine Fooks said that Henderson clearly had a "long and sad story". However his crimes were repeated and "appalling".

Upon early release from his 42 month sentence in 2020, Henderson was then sent back to prison for six months for possession of Class A and B drugs. He was then released again in January this year, just five weeks before his latest burglary.

Pictured: It was the second time that Henderson has burgled Stonelakes at the Bridge - the first was back in 2003. 

"What makes you offend is your drug use," said Judge Fooks. "You have had so many chances to change. Only you can decide what happens when you are next released."

His latest crime, she said, had hit the pharmacy and its customers at a difficult time.

"The community doesn't want to experience burglaries, let alone this. Even more so during lockdown, when the supply chain was disrupted."

The Royal Court sentenced Henderson to four years in prison and one year's worth of supervision upon his release. It was "not viable" for a compensation claim against him because of his financial circumstances, the Court concluded.