- Might as well make the best out of a bad situation.
Remember that cardboard box-clad burglar from Florida earlier this month? Well, we now have a competitor for him in outlandish criminal behavior.
This story, however, comes from England. A knife-waving robber recently walked into a convenience store and attempted to steal a case of beer.
Thanks to his quick wits and action, the store owner managed to slip outside. He closed the store’s security shutters, trapping the thief inside.
The burglar tried to squeeze through the small gap between the shutters and the ground but soon found himself stuck. With nothing else left to do, he reached for a beer, opened it, and began waiting for the cops.
You’ve got to give it to the man, at least he didn’t try anything stupid to make the situation worse. If you know the jig is up, might as well crack open a cold one and think about your life choices.
A Brave Escape
The robbery attempt took place in May of this year. It was a normal day for a convenience store in Durham, northeast England, until one Martin Trimble walked in.
The 30-year-old was apparently hell-bent on having a drink that day. He walked straight to the booze shelf and grabbed a four-pack of beer.
Clearly, he wanted to get buzzed but not too drunk. We’re sure he would’ve otherwise gone for a six-pack.
Instead of paying for his purchase like a good customer, though, Trimble brandished a knife. He threatened the store owner with the weapon, indicating that any attempt to stop him wouldn’t end well.
The store owner got the message. He turned tail and bravely ran out of the shop.
And then he slammed the door shut.
Shut Down
At that moment, Trimble realized what the store owner was trying to do. He rushed to the door and tried to pull it open, but the owner held tight to keep the burglar trapped in his store.
As the two continued to struggle, the owner grabbed the shop’s front security shutter and began pulling it down. As he focused on the shutter, Trimble managed to yank the door free from his grip — but the shutter was already almost all the way down.
Seeing a small gap left between the shutter and the street, Trimble took his chance. He squeezed himself into the crevice, attempting to get out and run for freedom.
Only, his girth couldn’t fit through the small opening. As he tried to crawl back inside the store — maybe he could escape through a back door — he realized he couldn’t go that way either.
He was stuck, pinned between the street and the shutter.
After a moment of futile struggling, Trimble realized he was going nowhere. Well, if he had to get arrested, he wasn’t about to do it sober.
He had promised himself a beer that day and come hell or high water, he would have it.
With his free hand, Trimble grabbed one of the beers he’d tried to steal and cracked it open. When the police arrived and freed him three minutes later, Trimble finished his beer and went without a fight.
“It wasn’t the most difficult arrest we have ever made. To be honest, it was an open and shut case,” cracked Detective Sergeant Paul Mawson, Durham Constabulary, according to Fox.
Trimble has since been sentenced for his attempted burglary. He received a three-year prison sentence earlier this week.
It’ll probably be a while before he gets to chug another beer.
They Lock Doors in Australia, Too
A similar case played out in Australia recently as well. Earlier this month, a store employee defeated a would-be beer thief with a locked door.
The attempted crime happened at Beechboro Bottle-O in Perth. A man entered the store and picked up a 10-pack of beer.
He approached the counter as if he was about to pay, but just before reaching it, he ran for the door.
“He came to the counter like he was pretending to get served and just made a run for it,” store employee Kelly Gordon said according to The Telegraph.
As the man approached the door, though, Gordon reacted quickly. She hit the remote door lock and the latch slammed close in front of the man.
Security camera footage showed the man fumbling with the door for a moment. Then, as the realization that he’d been caught sunk in, he gingerly returned the pack of beer to the counter.
“I wasn’t concerned. He didn’t seem aggressive or anything … More of a defeat,” said Gordon.
She eventually unlocked the door and allowed the man to take off as she called the cops. The man is, to the best of our knowledge, still on the run.
It was a smart move of Gordon to let him go. Although he was initially calm, who knows what a desperate, cornered criminal might do?
You know, apart from cracking open a cold one.
Hits: 0
