A career criminal who has committed 125 offences was caught breaking into a car after he left part of his electronic TAG in the vehicle, a court heard.
Dozy Simeon Francis, 26, was arrested just yards from the crime scene after leaving the black box responder behind.
Francis, of Torquay, Devon, was tagged after committing a catalogue of crimes for which he has received a staggering 53 convictions.
He broke his curfew by leaving his home on December 3 and, incredibly, thought he could trick the authorities by removing the plug-in box, which was wired to his home, and taking it with him.
Francis downed ”bottles of sherry” before carrying the box, which connects electronically to the ankle tag, down the street and resting it on the back seat of a car he had broken into in the early hours.
The owner of the car came out and confronted him and he ran off – before being arrested just yards away.
Francis claimed to have no memory of breaking into the vehicle, but police were able to pin it on him as they found the plug-in box inside the car.
And on Saturday he pleaded guilty at Torquay Magistrates’ Court to one count of attempted theft from a motor vehicle and one of possessing cannabis.
The court heard Francis had consumed ”bottles of sherry” that night and had been told to leave his curfew address by a friend because he was drunk.
Paul Dentith, mitigating, said he had intended to sleep it off at a friend’s home and had taken the plug-in box with him.
He said: ”There is some merit in what he did. He goes to stay at his mate’s and takes the box with him to plug it in when he gets there.
”It’s nonsense but his sentiment wasn’t to breach bail at all. He never got to his friend’s house. He was arrested a few yards away leaving the tagging box in the back of the car.”
The court heard the plan was doomed to fail because moving the box from his curfew address would have alerted police anyway.
Francis was placed on a bail curfew pending a hearing for sentencing, due to be heard on February 7.