Jail for man who stole bin full of booze

New Year's Eve was celebrated two nights early by two NT men who broke into a restaurant and stole 151 bottles of spirits and 216 stubbies of beer.

A Darwin man who was found passed out drunk outside a restaurant he had robbed, with a wheelie bin full of stolen alcohol at his feet, has told a court he is ashamed of himself.

Warren Andrew Argall pleaded guilty in the Darwin Magistrates Court on Wednesday to three charges of unlawful entry and three charges of stealing.

The court heard that at about 11pm on Monday night, Argall and his accomplice Dion Barry Crowle entered Char Restaurant on Darwin's Esplanade through an unlocked back gate and forced open a sliding door.

The pair had a few drinks in the cold store room and then on the footpath outside.

Argall made off with a wheelie bin with bottles of spirits, leaving behind his backpack containing his identification.

However, it appears the binload of booze wasn't enough, and the two made repeat visits to steal more alcohol throughout the night, all captured on CCTV.

At about 1am, Argall and a friend returned and took a box of Boags beer, and then 10 minutes later Crowle entered with another man for two six-packs of beer.

40 minutes after that, he and another man took two more six-packs of beer, taking another two at about 4.30am.

At about 6am, Argall returned and took a box of Corona and a box of Boags beer, and an hour later police found him asleep on the footpath outside Char, the court heard.

At his feet was the wheelie bin full of spirits and the two boxes of beer.

All together, Argall stole 151 bottles of assorted spirits and 216 stubbies of beer from the restaurant, with a combined value of $7,507.

The court heard he had absolutely no recollection of the night.

"I'm ashamed of myself," he said.

He had no prior convictions for theft, dishonesty, or breaking and entering, Magistrate Michael Carey said.

For the six offences he was sentenced to one month in prison from January 2.

Crowle will reappear in court in January.


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Source: AAP


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