The success of a criminal enterprise is often all in the planning. If you need to be incognito but like chowing down sweet treats, for instance, wear a disguise that enables both.
A Delaware man failed to plan precisely for that inevitable circumstance and has landed up in police custody as a result.
Robert L. Barger Jr. kicked off his recent crime spree on Thursday, March 3 with a burglary at Bi-Rite Auto Sales in Seaford, the Hockessin Community News reports. The 30-year-old allegedly stole items including money, electronics and two sets of car keys, after forcing entry through a back window.
Yet burglar Barger made a bizarre blunder during that incident, uncovering his face on CCTV to devour a tub of ice cream he had found in a freezer at the dealership.
Two vehicles, a 2008 Ford F-350 and a 2005 Ford F-150, then vanished from the same Bi-Rite car lot on Sunday.
However, police were finally able to haul in the sweet-toothed suspect after he was spotted hanging out in the stolen black Ford F-350 at the parking lot of a Food Lion supermarket in Laurel.
Barger was charged with two counts of theft of a motor vehicle, two counts of third-degree burglary, possession of burglar tools, two counts of second-degree conspiracy, criminal mischief and two further counts of theft. He is currently in the Sussex Correctional Institution in default of a $21,500 cash bond.
His on-the-job comfort eating may well be explained by a poor run of form. Barger was arrested for similar crimes as recently as February 8.