A burglar who broke into a Newcastle BrewDog bar and stole over £1,000 worth of booze before committing more offences has been jailed.
Graeme Park broke into the popular Dean Street bar in the early hours of January 7 this year and made off with £1,200 worth of alcohol. Months later, the 43-year-old went on to buy £100 worth of booze with a stolen bank card and then attempted to burgle a home in Gateshead. After being caught and admitting the offences, Park failed to turn up to court for sentencing on two occasions.
Park, of Bedale Court, Harlow Green, Gateshead, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on Monday to be sentenced for burglary, attempted burglary, fraud, allowing himself to be carried in a stolen vehicle, and two counts of failing to surrender. He had pleaded guilty to the charges at a previous hearing.
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Caroline McGurk, prosecuting, said the first offence was committed at 1.10am on January 7 this year, when Park went to BrewDog in Newcastle city centre. She said: "The defendant stole £1,200 of alcohol and was caught on CCTV and scientifically linked to the scene." Following the burglary, Park was due to appear at Newcastle Magistrates' Court, but failed to show up in February and a warrant was issued. The court was told Park also failed to appear at another Magistrates' court hearing following that.
Park then committed fraud on July 9 when he used a stolen bank card to buy £100 of alcohol from a Tesco in Gateshead. Ms McGurk said the card was stolen in a burglary by another person the day before. The victim of the burglary also had their car stolen, and Park allowed himself to be carried in that stolen vehicle after it was taken, the court heard. On July 10 Park also tried the door of a property in Gateshead, but did not gain entry.
The court heard Park had 30 previous convictions for 76 offences, including for theft, burglary and attempted burglary.
Jonathan Pigford, defending, said there had been a break in Park's offending since 2019 and that he had pleaded guilty to the charges early. He said Park experienced a "period of homelessness before Christmas" last year as a result of an "unhappy relationship" with a co-tenant. He said: "He's now started to lose contact with those who are providing support to him. He is very disappointed with his behaviour." Mr Pigford added that "the lockdown period had an impact on him".
Recorder Mark Giuliani said Park must be at the age where "he needs to break the cycle" and said he has an "appalling record for inquisitive crime". He jailed Park for 14 months.
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