Police officers have arrested a 42-year-old New Haven man for allegedly breaking into a closed Crown Street restaurant and consuming thousands of dollars worth of food and drink over the past four days.
Police spokesperson Capt. Anthony Duff sent out that update in an email press release Wednesday morning.
He said that city police officers responded to a burglary in progress at a downtown Crown Street restaurant at around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Upon arriving, officers found a 42-year-old New Haven man asleep in the closed restaurant and in possession of a bottle of the restaurant’s rum
Investigators reviewed security video footage, which showed that the man had climbed through the restaurant’s side window on Saturday.
Duff wrote that officers learned that the man had “helped himself over the course of four days to the restaurant’s food, liquor, and beer.”
Restaurant management estimated that the loss of food and beverage totaled several thousand dollars. “The loss includes an estimated 70 bottles of stolen or consumed liquor.”
Police have charged the man with third-degree burglary, third-degree larceny, first-degree criminal mischief, and second-degree failure to appear for a prior East Haven warrant.
The man was held at the New Haven Police Department lockup at 1 Union Ave. on a $12,500 bond before being transferred Wednesday morning to an arraignment hearing at the state Superior Court building at 235 Church St.