Police in the USA have arrested a man after he reportedly broke into a restaurant closed down during the coronavirus pandemic and spent four days drinking loads of booze and gorging himself on the food.
The New Haven Police Department in the state of Connecticut reportedly found 42-year-old Louis Angel Ortiz asleep with a bottle of rum inside a local restaurant on Tuesday (14 April).
They were responding to reports of a robbery in progress, but once they reviewed the security footage from the cameras in the restaurant they discovered that the robbery appeared to have been in progress for some time before they arrived.
In fact, it looks as if the man broke into the shuttered business on Saturday (11 April).
That's an awfully long time to be tucking into someone else's liquor and food without anyone noticing.
In a statement released on their Instagram page, the force said: "Officers responded to a burglary in progress at a downtown Crown Street restaurant. The caller reported finding an unknown man, later identified as Louis Angel Ortiz, asleep in the closed restaurant.
"Arriving officers located Ortiz nearby on Crown Street and detained him. The 42-year-old New Haven man was found in possession of a bottle of the restaurant's rum.
"Investigators reviewed security video footage which confirmed the initial burglary occurred several days prior on Saturday when Ortiz made entry through a side window of the restaurant.
"Officers learned Ortiz helped himself over the course of four days to the restaurant's food, liquor, and beer. In addition to eating and drinking at the restaurant, Ortiz removed beverages and property from the building."
The statement continued: "The business had been closed during this time and it was a manager's routine check of the establishment that led to the discovery of the burglary.
"Management estimated the loss of food and beverages at several thousand dollars. The loss includes an estimated 70 bottles of stolen or consumed liquor."
By anyone's standards, 70 bottles of liquor is plenty, let alone over the course of a matter of days.
Ortiz has been charged with third degree burglary, third degree larceny, and first degree criminal mischief.
On top of that, he's got an existing rap sheet that covers a few other things, too. His bail was set at $12,500 (£9,900) and he'll have his day in court before too long.
Give him time to sober up, first.
Featured Image Credit: New Haven Police Department