Prolific burglar and drug dealer jailed again

A prolific burglar and drug dealer who led police on a high speed pursuit in a stolen car has been jailed for seven years and nine months.

Mark Nixon, 36, ransacked three homes in Newcastle and stole a car from one, leading police on a 30-mile chase down the A19 in October, the city's crown court heard.

Weeks later, while out on bail, he was caught with a £1,400 block of cocaine in Middlesbrough.

Nixon, who had a string of previous convictions and jail sentences, admitted burglary, theft, dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified and possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply.

Nixon, of Dunlane Close in Middlesbrough, targeted three homes in the Fenham area of Newcastle between 06:00 GMT and 08:00 on 26 October, prosecutor Ellen Wright said.

In each case he gained entry as families were sleeping inside and searched through drawers and downstairs rooms, stealing items including keys and bank cards, the court heard.

From one house on Moorside North he also took the homeowner's Toyota Corolla, Ms Wright said.

Shortly before 09:00, police saw Nixon driving the stolen car down the A19 towards Teesside and followed him for over 30 miles before he was eventually stopped at Wolviston near Stockton, the court heard.

Ms Wright said the Corolla was swerving across the road and several attempts to box it in failed before it crashed.

He was visibly intoxicated and a roadside drug test detected he had used cocaine, although he refused to provide a blood sample for analysis, the court heard.

In interview, Nixon denied carrying out the burglaries and said he had bought the car that morning for three wraps of cocaine.

On the afternoon of 16 November, a plain-clothed police officer saw Nixon riding a white mountain bike in the Ayresome Gardens area of Middlesbrough, a "well-known" location for drug dealers, Ms Wright said.

Nixon was seen to carry out a trade with two men and was arrested, with a block of cocaine worth £1,400 and other drug dealing paraphernalia found.

The court was told Nixon had a long criminal record, including multiple previous burglaries and drug dealing offences, for which he had received jail terms totalling more than 10 years.

Nixon was also banned from driving for 46 months and two weeks.

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