Three plead guilty to theft from Wolverhampton nightclub
Three men have admitted stealing booze and paint-balling equipment belonging to a Wolverhampton nightclub after a drinking session, a court heard.
Dominic Andrews, Shane Bates and Stefan Hilton stole the items after entering the annexe to Planet Nightclub in Westbury Street on June 19.
They had all been staying at P3 homeless hostel and were returning from a drinking session when they committed the crime.
Prosecuting at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court, Mrs Jenny Winzor said they had drunk a crate of 24 Budweiser beers and a bottle of whisky beforehand between them and they 'had difficulty with their recollections'.
She said that someone had broken in to the nightclub through the roof after it was locked up three days earlier but it was not known who did it. She added: "There are photos of the establishment and it seems apparent offenders got through the roof of the nightclub. The crown is not in a position to prove it was these defendants that did that.
"From the CCTV it was apparent that the three defendants could be seen to be coming and going. They were identified as being these defendants by the police. They were also wearing the same clothes when they were in custody."
All pleaded guilty to stealing alcohol and paintballing equipment after entering the annexe to Planet Nightclub, Westbury Street, as trespassers, on June 19.
The court heard that 26-year-old Andrews, of Lea Road, Penn Fields, accepted he was 'very drunk' when he noticed an open door to the annexe and walked in and stole a bottle of vodka.
Twenty-two-year-old Hilton, of Birches Barn Road, Bradmore, could not remember stealing the bottle of vodka that was found in his pocket and he admitted picking up silver objects he saw on the annexe floor.
Bates, of Hamble Road, Merry Hill, also 22, admitted the theft and a second charge of causing criminal damage to an internal wooden door worth £250 at P3 hostel on the same night. Mrs Winzor added that P3 staff knew he had returned after his curfew, so his door was locked. When they saw him, back in his room after returning late, the door was 'hanging off its hinges'.
The case was adjourned for pre-sentence reports and all three men were granted unconditional bail.
They will be sentenced on October 1.
