Teenager jailed for smashing his way into 86-year-old's home in Coventry can now be named - The Coventry Observer

Teenager jailed for smashing his way into 86-year-old's home in Coventry can now be named

Coventry Editorial 23rd Sep, 2021 Updated: 23rd Sep, 2021   0

A TEENAGER who smashed his way into an 86-year-old woman’s home in Coventry has been jailed after police linked him to the burglary.

Police were previously unable to name Donatus Ratkus who was 16 when he broke into the detached home in Cannon Hill Road in September 2018.

But now officers can reveal who he is following the four-and-a-half year sentence which was handed to him at Warwick Crown Court.

Ratkus, now 19, will be deported to Lithuania when he’s served his sentence.




He was one of two thieves who hurled a brick through a back window of the property on September 22.

The pair then ransacked the house, turning out drawers, on the hunt for cash and valuables when they heard the victim using a toilet.


The thugs dragged her out and yanked a bracelet from her wrist before making off.

Officers arrested Ratkus from an address in Newey Road seven days later.

Detectives found blood at the scene of two more break-ins – in Greens Road and Beake Avenue, both on September 14 – which returned a DNA hit to Ratkus.

He was jailed for 27 months for those offences but, as he was aged under 18, he could not be named for those either.

Police linked him through phone work and forensics to the raid in Cannon Hill Road and can now reveal his identity after he was jailed for that offence as an adult.

Ratkus had already been jailed for two other burglaries but we were determined to get justice for this lady and her family.

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