A FAKE police officer unlawfully handcuffed an unsuspecting woman and stole electronic items from another.

At 8pm on October 23 Stefan-Catalin Dunareanu, dressed in a high-visibility police vest, knocked on the door of a New Bright Street house.

When the 26 year-old occupant opened the door, Dunareanu told her had a drugs warrant and proceeded to steal an Asus laptop, Huawei tablet, a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and an Armani watch.

An hour later the 27 year-old fake cop handcuffed a 40 year-old woman at her Napier Road property and searched her house. He left empty handed.

Reading Chronicle:

Stefan-Catalin Dunareanu

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Emma Smith of Force CID based at Reading police station, said: “This was a complex investigation with a number of interesting elements and hurdles to overcome.

“Unfortunately we had little forensics opportunities so we had to focus on the handcuffs that were used during the second burglary and subsequently left at the scene. We discovered a serial number on the handcuffs, contacted the distributers and were able to link a recent purchase of handcuffs to an address in Ilford in London where Dunareanu was arrested.

“The offences were unusual because Dunareanu was dressed in a fake police uniform and claimed to be a police officer, which were an aggravating feature in this case.

“The victims have shown tremendous courage to attend court and give evidence and I want to pay tribute to them. I hope they feel some sense of justice that Dunareanu has been jailed for four years.”

Stefan-Catalin Dunareanu, aged 27, of Ilford Lane, Ilford, London, was found guilty of two counts of burglary and not guilty of one count of assault, following a trial at Reading Crown Court on Friday.

He was sentenced to four years.

A full report of the court case will be online early next week and will feature in Thursday's Reading Chronicle.