Hertfordshire burglar traced by dropped hat DNA
A man who stole £200 from an elderly woman in Hertfordshire has been jailed for 21 months after his DNA was found in a hat he left at her home.
Myles Connors, 23, told his 89-year-old victim that he was working for the "water board" in Bricket Wood on 18 January last year.
St Albans Crown Court heard he asked her to flush her toilet, and took her handbag while she was out of the room.
Connors, of Millfield Road, Edgware, London, admitted burglary.
The court heard police found the hat on the driveway, and tests revealed it contained Connors' DNA.
He has 13 previous convictions for 40 offences.
His defence barrister Stephanie Ward said the father of two wanted to write to the victim to apologise.
At the time he needed cash to pay for his drug habit, she added.