A local man has been jailed for 20 weeks after pleading guilty to five Burglaries and Going Equipped for Stealing.

Ben Brown, 18, of Calpe Road, was sentenced at the Magistrates’ Court last Tuesday for two separate cases.

The first incident happened at around 3am on 4 April this year, when Brown forced entry to a building on Library Ramp, by repeatedly kicking the door until the lock broke.

Once inside, he then forced entry to four separate businesses, causing damage totalling £4,500 before stealing €576 and £70 in cash.

The break in was then reported to the RGP, who dispatched their Crime Scene Investigators.

These detectives managed to recover a lighter at the scene, which did not belong to staff.

Following analysis, a DNA trace was recovered from the lighter, which matched Brown.

As a result of the DNA evidence and a distinctive bag recovered from his residence, BROWN was arrested on June 10 this year on suspicion of Burglary. 

He was then charged for the offences, for which he later pleaded guilty and received a 16-week prison sentence.

In the second case, several members of the public approached officers on Lovers Lane just after 1.30am on Monday 11 April this year, stating that they had seen a man acting suspiciously in the area of Queensway Quay.

Officers immediately made their way to the area, where they found Brown in a car park nearby. When Brown saw the officers, he threw a metal object on the floor, which turned out to be a tyre iron.

Officers then searched the area where he had been and found a pair of socks and a baseball cap. He was then arrested on suspicion of Going Equipped and later pleaded guilty to the offence in court, for which he received a four-week prison sentence.

The court stated the two sentences will be served consecutively.