A man who stole a till from a Portadown Chinese takeaway has been sentenced to five months behind bars.
Court heard that the till had been recovered with £100 in coins still inside.
Andrejs Ivanovs, 47, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to burglary at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
Prosecution outlined that on August 29, at 12.20am, police received a report from a member of the public who saw two males with a till in the Portadown area.
During a search, officers located a black till nearby and the following morning they received a report of a burglary from the Bamboo Chinese on the Lurgan Road in Portadown.
CCTV from the takeaway showed two males enter around midnight and remove the till from the premises.
Ivanovs was subsequently arrested for the offence and initially denied being involved.
Defence barrister Joel Lindsay stated: “He was intoxicated at the time. The CCTV was not the strongest in this case but the nexus and time connected Mr Ivanovs.
“He has been in Northern Ireland for 10 years. He suffered a brain injury which led to his alcoholism in recent years.”
Prosecution commented that no restitution was sought as £100 was still in the till in coins but damage had been caused.
Mr Lindsay added that the defendant had been sentenced to three months in prison on October 11 for an offence of theft.
District Judge Steven Keown said: “It is a considerable escalation from theft to this but he is due credit for his early guilty plea.”
Ivanovs was sentenced to five months in prison for the offence.
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