Pair found guilty of violent Holloway burglary

Two men have been convicted of a violent burglary in which a home owner was attacked with a hammer and left with a fractured skull.

Patrick Brennan, 20, of Royley House, Old Street, Clerkenwell, denied all charges in relation to the Holloway burglary but was found guilty of aggravated burglary at Blackfriars Crown Court last week. He was cleared of grievous bodily harm and common assault.

His accomplice, Timothy Welch, 28, of Aberdeen Road, Highbury, admitted aggravated burglary and common assault but denied grevious bodily harm and was found not guilty.

On April 1 this year, Brennan and Welch started smashing down the door of a house in Blundell Street, Holloway, shouting ‘armed police.’

As the 51-year-old victim got up to investigate, the two burglars burst through and attacked him with a hammer, leaving him with a fractured skull and cuts to his arms. He was taken to hospital but his injuries were non life threatening or life changing.

Meanwhile, the culprits made off by were caught nearby shortly afterwards by police. Welch, who was on licence for a cash in transit robbery in 2007, was found hiding in bushes with a hammer and a substantial amount of cash close by.

They will be sentenced in November at Blackfriars Crown Court and Judge Aidan Marron QC remanded them both in custody.

Investigating Officer, Det Con Dermot Corcoran said: “The level of violence used was horrific and has caused the victim lasting injuries. I am pleased that the court has found these two men guilty.”