Burglar who broke into pub and got drunk caught asleep behind the bar
A man broke into a bar to ransack the place and ended up drinking himself unconscious instead.
Lee Roach, 46, broke into Harrison’s Bar in Liverpool city centre with the intention of burgling it.
But the dad of four and grandad of one, who has 90 previous convictions, couldn’t resist helping himself to spirits and passed out behind the bar. He was not found until the next day by the cleaner, who quickly retreated.
Roach, who had $10,000 of toy money down his trousers, was woken up by police as they handcuffed him.
Liverpool Crown Court was told it ‘was not the most sophisticated’ burglary on August 16 this year.
Mike Stephenson, prosecuting, said staff were opening Harrison’s Bar at 9.20am to allow the kitchen to be restocked when they ‘found the defendant behind the bar’.
Mr Stephenson said Roach had forced entry by ‘breaking a window’ and was found ‘lying amongst debris’ with damage to a drinks fridge, which was upended.
Roach, of Leeds Street, had stashed bottles of alcohol in a rucksack, which he claimed he had found at the bar.
Mr Stephenson said: ‘The cleaning lady who encountered him retreated and locked the shutters again.’
He added it ‘did not make a lot of difference to Mr Roach’ who had drunk ‘extensively’ from bottles of spirits and ‘was dead to the world’.
During a strip search at the police station officers recovered $10,000 of ‘funny money’.
He also had a parcel which he had stolen from a block of flats, containing a new wallet.
Roach, who admitted burglary and theft, has 90 previous convictions for 161 offences including 86 offences of theft and 20 burglaries.
The court heard he was subject to a suspended sentence at the time of the burglary and theft, which he admitted being in breach of.
Matthew O’Neill, defending, said Roach had been making ‘great progress’ with a Drug Rehabilitation Order, adding he has previously worked as a painter and decorator.
He said Roach had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and noted it ‘was not the most sophisticated’ burglary.
The judge, Recorder David Knifton, QC, said: ‘Mr Roach I have read the report, I have read your history of offending and it is a pretty sorry tale of a man who has been addicted to drugs for years.
‘You did well and managed to complete successfully the Drug Rehabilitation Requirement which was provided to you.
‘Unfortunately, you then turned to drink instead and ended up being found in the bar of licenced premises so drunk they had to wake you up.’
Roach was jailed for 15 months in total.
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