By Piper Patterson
A man who attempted to steal money from a Pizza Hut in Sunderland has been convicted, having admitted to one charge of burglary.
On December 17, 2018, William Trotter raided the restaurant in St Luke’s Terrace, Sunderland and attempted a clean getaway. However, it did not go quite to plan.
In the act of committing the crime, Trotter, 37, ended up cutting himself and left a trail of his blood on the floor, leading to the police being able to arrest him quickly after he had committed the crime.
Detective constable Stuart Harvey of Northumbria police said:
“It was a cynical crime in which Trotter has shown a total disregard for the law. He broke into the premises and made away with the till before attempting to wash away the evidence to make sure that he was not punished for his actions.”
The crime took place at 5:30am when Mr Trotter broke into the restaurant and ripped out the till, containing around £100 of cash; he left the premises, then returned around one minute later. He re-entered the restaurant, removing his high-vis jacket in an attempt to disguise himself, then proceeded to mop up the pools of his own blood in attempt to prevent his capture.
Trotter attempted to clear up his trail of blood by emptying a bottle of cola on the floor; however, he was caught by the CCTV and the police being able to match his DNA to the blood.
When interviewed by the police, Trotter admitted to the offence but refused to watch the CCTV footage of him claiming: “It’s just a waste of time, get on with it.”
He is due to be sentenced later this year.