Burglar stole £150 from a Jarrow town centre Subway during a late-night raid
A burglary who broke into a Jarrow sandwich shop has walked free from court.
A burglar who raided a South Tyneside eatery the night before he was due in court to be sentenced for a similar crime has kept his liberty.
Casey Bell, 33, who confessed to targeting Subway in Jarrow’s Viking shopping centre, walked free from court after his solicitor insisted he was trying to turn his life around.
And on leaving the dock after being handed a suspended jail term, Bell told District Judge Zoe Passfield: “I’ll not let you down. This was just stupid. Nice one.”
Bell, of Westmoreland Road, Elswick, Newcastle, and another man broke into the outlet at around 10.30pm on Wednesday, August 12.
They set off an alarm which alerted the owner but managed to pinch a till containing £150 in cash, prosecutor James Rickerby said.
Breaking into Subway
Mr Rickerby told South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court: “The victim became aware of two males entering by forcing the front door.
“They took a till valued at £150, and £150 in cash which was in the till. It was caught on CCTV. From the footage, the defendant was identified.
“When interviewed, he denied being responsible and said it was a case of mistaken identity, but he’s pleaded guilty at the first opportunity today.
“He has 43 previous convictions from 82 offences, and there are two recent burglaries. He was given a suspended sentence on August 13.”
Bell pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary with intent to steal.
At the same court on Thursday, August 13, he was sentenced after pleading guilty to drug possession, attempted burglary and possession of a bladed article.
For those matters, all committed in June, he was jailed for six months, suspended for a year.
‘He assures me that he is turning his life around’
Of Bell’s latest crime, Chris Wilson, defending, said: “He hasn’t messed around this morning and has pleaded guilty.
“He assures me that he is turning his life around. He was drug tested at the police station and it was all negative. He is proud of that.
“At the time of this offence, he was using drugs but not as prolifically.”
Judge Passfield imposed a repeat sentence of a six-month jail term suspended for 12 months and ordered him to pay Subway’s branch owner £300 compensation.
She told him: “It’s far from impressive that you were out committing a burglary the night before you were in court for sentencing.”