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| Simon Cowell burglary: Man guilty of stealing £1m of gems | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A serial burglar has been convicted of stealing jewellery worth almost £1m from Simon Cowell's west London home. | |
| Darren February, 33, of no fixed address, had denied breaking into the Holland Park house while the music mogul and his family slept. | |
| He took jewellery and two passports from an open safe while a security guard was in the toilet in December 2015, Isleworth Crown Court heard. | |
| February had previously been convicted of 37 burglaries, the prosecution said. | |
| He was already serving a jail sentence for hitting a motorcyclist with his car and killing him near the X Factor supremo's home just 10 days after the burglary. | |
| Diamond bracelet | |
| He was first convicted aged 12 and has committed 58 offences spanning two decades. | |
| The jury took less than an hour to find him guilty following a four-day trial. | |
| The court heard February's DNA was found on gloves dropped during his escape and on a handprint left on a wall at the property. A security worker also spotted him as he fled. | |
| In a statement read out in court, Mr Cowell said he and his partner Lauren Silverman had been "very concerned" for their son Eric after learning about the burglary. | |
| He explained the safe had been left open as Ms Silverman was catching a flight in the morning and wanted to "quietly get her jewellery" when she left. | |
| Among the items taken were a ring estimated to be worth £500,000 as well as earrings, watches and a diamond bracelet. |