Burglar Breaks Into Pub, Gets Drunk, Trashes It And Falls Asleep

A man broke into a pub, downed a drink and then went on a massive wrecking spree before falling asleep.

Burglar Marius Petrikas, 30, was found fast asleep on a sofa in the bar by the owner after he heard snoring.

Before he decided to have a kip, Petrikas had caused thousands of pounds worth of damage at the City Tavern in Newcastle last summer.

Owner David King, who was already struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic, said he was left with more than £21,000 worth of damage due to Petrikas' actions.

The damage was so bad, the pub was unable to open until repair work had been carried out.

He said: "Covid-19 has had a massive financial impact on us and this burglary has happened at the worse possible time and has put livelihoods at risk.

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"It felt like a last straw that broke the camel's back."

Newcastle Crown Court heard Petrikas had 'barricaded' himself in the pub and pulled a camera from the wall.

Alec Burns, prosecuting, said: "He was discovered at 6am that morning when the landlord found the door insecure.

"He could hear snoring so called the police, who attended and found the defendant asleep. He had a bag and a metal police with him.

"He had wrecked the pub and barricaded himself using beer barrels and furniture.

"He pulled a camera off the wall, in the cellar he pulled a cooling unit off the wall."

King went on to say the break in had a detrimental impact on the pub's staff.

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Andrew Walker, defending, said: "One can only have great sympathy for hard-working business who have to deal with this sort of situation."

Petrikas pleaded guilty to burglary and Recorder Ben Nolan QC sentenced him to 12 months in prison, but as Petrikas had spent so long on remand he will be released almost immediately.

Recorder Nolan added that the offence was contributed to by his mental health problems

The judge told him: "Having broke in your committed criminal damage by wrecking various feature within the pub then, bizarrely, you simply went to sleep on the sofa in the pub."

Topics: UK News, crime

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19