A violent burglar who raided the homes of a string of elderly women has been jailed for more than the usual maximum sentence of 14 years.
Judge Sean Morris imposed a series of consecutive jail sentences on Leonard Johnston for a series of house burglaries and a violent assault.
Even if he is released early it means that Johnston, who has a previous record, will not be free until the beginning of 2019.
The usual highest sentence for burglary is 14 years, and Johnston would have expected a cut in his sentence for pleading guilty on the day of his trial.
But the serial burglar appeared in shock as his sentence was handed down at Lincoln Crown Court.
Leonard Johnston Johnston's burglaries included one on the home of 77-year-old Patricia Hanes.
She was away from her home at Stickney, Lincolnshire, on holiday when Johnston broke in and ransacked the property.
He stole £24,000 worth of jewellery including precious items given to her as presents by her late husband.
His blood was left behind at the scene but he remained on the run for over seven months. Mrs Hanes passed away just nine weeks later.
Phil Howes, prosecuting, said Johnston's luck ran out after he carried out two daylight raids on the home of retired women in the market town of Louth.
With an accomplice, Johnston entered the home of Vivienne Hallburg, 63, and after threatening violence forced her to show him where she kept the keys to the home of her neighbour Cynthia Sellick, 68.
Mrs Sellick, a retired probation officer, tried to restrain him when she found the burglary in progress but he bit her finger and attempted to gouge out her eyes.
Her screams attracted neighbours who detained Johnston until police arrived.
Johnston, 49, of no fixed address, admitted the burglaries and the assault on Cynthia Sellick.
The court heard he had in the past received prison sentences totalling 30 years for a string of different offences in the period since the early 1980s.
Judge Morris called Johnston a dangerous ‘professional criminal’, adding ‘I can't think of anything so low. Just weeks later she died. You made the last weeks of her life a misery.
‘People in the latter years of their lives are entitled to live in safety and dignity. The courts will protect them from professional criminals like you.’
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