This cocky burglar jailed after taking swig of Pepsi from fridge leaving his DNA - The Coventry Observer

This cocky burglar jailed after taking swig of Pepsi from fridge leaving his DNA

Coventry Editorial 29th Oct, 2018   0

THIS COCKY burglar – showing no remorse outside court where he wore this gun-design t-shirt – was jailed because he took a swig of Pepsi from the fridge, leaving his DNA.

The court rejected his explanation for how his DNA came to be on the bottle of Pepsi.

Christopher Bateman had pleaded not guilty to burgling the house in Chorley Way, Coventry, in July.

He asserted that he had taken a drink from the bottle when he had gone to the house to pick up his daughter from there a couple of weeks earlier to take her home.




But magistrates rejected his account and found him guilty following a trial.

And at Warwick Crown Court, Bateman (43) of St Nicholas Street, Coventry, was jailed for nine months.


Prosecutor Stuart Clarkson said that in July a woman returned to her home in Chorley Way to find that the kitchen window had been broken.

Jewellery, some of which was of sentimental value, cash, electrical goods and other items had been stolen.

But she also noticed the bottle of Pepsi that had been in the fridge was empty.

The police took a DNA swab from the bottle, and when that was examined, it gave a match to Bateman, who denied being responsible for the burglary, added Mr Clarkson.

Ian Windridge, defending, pointed out: “He has quite a considerable record, but nothing for burglary. He steals from shops, and he gets involved in fights and drug-taking, but he has never been involved in a burglary.

“In this matter, he denied involvement, and the case had to be proved against him. The proof is from DNA found on a bottle in the fridge.

“But in the pre-sentence report, he still maintains he did not enter the house and take the items.”

Mr Windridge said Bateman had not been to custody for the best part of ten years, and the probation service had put forward ‘a possible option for what can be done with him’ if he did not receive an immediate sentence.

But jailing Bateman, Recorder Marc Brown told him: “I take the view that this offence involved some degree of planning.

“You continue to assert your innocence, despite having been found guilty. I accept that despite your record, this is the first time you have been convicted of burglary.

“But I do not consider it appropriate to suspend the sentence. You have complied with community sentences in the past, but it hasn’t stopped you re-offending.”

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