‘Wimbledon prowler’ pleads guilty to burglaries
A man has admitted making 500-mile round trips to carry out a string of burglaries on Wimbledon homes over more than a decade.
Asdrit Kapaj, 42, from Woodfield Road, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, carried enough thefts to earn himself the nickname of the “Wimbledon prowler”.
Boris Becker is reported to have been one of Kapaj’s victims.
He is said to have attempted to raid the address of the former Wimbledon tennis champion in October 2013.
The burglar was also reportedly chased across a garden by the former footballer Nicolas Anelka.
Kapaj, pleaded guilty to 21 counts of burglary at Kingston crown court on Wednesday, and was remanded in custody on two counts of attempted burglary and a further count of going equipped.
A large group of residents were in court to celebrate the pleas.
The burglaries began in July 2008 and lasted until February this year, when he was arrested.
He will be sentenced by June 21 for the thefts of items including a diamond ring and a gold necklace, as well as a dress and thousands of pounds in cash.
Much of the evidence came from automatic number plate recognition technology tracking his car from Altrincham to South-west London.
Scotland Yard previously linked the Wimbledon prowler to 200 burglaries.
The Wimbledon offences he pleaded guilty to took place in Bathgate Road, Drax Avenue, Somerset Road, Leopold Avenue, St Mary’s Road, Atherton Drive, Lincoln Avenue, Home Park Road, Church Road, Arthur Road, Mackay Road, Copse Hill, Camp View and Belvedere Grove.
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