An Essex teenager burgled a petrol station in Harwich with two others because has was bored, a court has heard.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was one of three people who broke into a Texaco forecourt in the town, stealing tobacco and vapes worth an estimated £3,000. The other two perpetrators were not apprehended.
His solicitor told Colchester Youth Court the teenager said: “When you get bored, things get out of hand”, Essex County News reports.
The youth committed the burglary just 10 days after being sentenced for stealing a motorbike, and was caught by police the day after the forecourt theft after trying to break into a bar.
Already being subject to a referral order – a three to 12 month ‘contract’ that is signed by offenders aged between 10 and 17 and stipulates they will stop offending – the teenager asked the court to order him to wear an electronic monitoring tag as this would help him “keep out of trouble”. His mother, meanwhile, said extending the referral order was “probably a waste of everyone’s time”.
Magistrates extended the referral order. They also ordered the teenager to pay £175 in court costs and victim surcharge.
