Man cleared over alleged burglary attempt at Luciana Berger’s home
Magistrate found CCTV footage too “dark and grainy” to identify the defendant, despite police evidence linking him to the incidents
A man has been cleared of attempting to burgle the home of Labour peer Luciana Berger and stealing possessions from her family’s car.
Sarbast Lokman, 34, was charged with burglary, theft and attempted burglary after being accused of going to the politician’s London property twice in two days in April.
CCTV footage showed a man clambering over the fence in Baroness Berger’s back garden during a trial at City of London Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
A similar-looking figure returned the following day and managed to get into Baroness Berger’s Audi Q5, stealing items valued at £350, the court heard.
Those items included a pair of Marc Jacobs sunglasses, two pairs of children’s wellington boots and one adult pair, a first aid kit, an emergency blanket, a green picnic blanket and tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt belonging to a child, the court heard.
Lokman maintained that he was not the man in the footage, despite evidence from a police community support officer (PCSO) who said he had “no doubt” it was him.
District Judge Louisa Ciecióra called the footage “dark and grainy” and determined it was not “sufficient to conduct an identification” of the alleged thief.
Lokman, of no fixed address, denied all charges and was cleared of those relating to Baroness Berger from April.
He was convicted of one count of attempted burglary of a different property from March.
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