Man walked out of Chester pub with rucksack full of cash after raiding safe

Police caught him using 'facial recognition'

A man who stole cash from a Chester pub safe has been jailed. Darren O’Reilly, 40, appeared at Chester Magistrates Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to burglary and was sentenced to six months in prison.

The court heard that O’Reilly entered the private quarters of the Peacock pub on Christleton Road, Boughton, on the afternoon of 28 August. He went into the office which contained a safe and took cash which he stuffed into his backpack.

A staff member spotted him coming down the stairs into the main bar area and spoke with him. He apologised and said he was looking for a friend but was in the wrong pub. He then left.

It came to light that the safe had been tampered with when the key couldn’t be found by staff. Police were alerted and an investigation was launched. The pub’s CCTV showed O’Reilly taking money from the safe and then leaving.

The CCTV image of the suspect was retained by detectives and run through facial recognition software. They got a match and O’Reilly’s name was flagged as a suspect.

O’Reilly, from Strada Way, Liverpool, was detained by Merseyside Police on 29 August for another matter and air support spotted he’d discarded a rucksack. The bag which contained cash was located and seized by Merseyside officers. More cash was discovered following a search of O’Reilly.

PC Dan Malone said: "O’Reilly was caught in the act with the help of CCTV, facial recognition, our dedicated detectives, and our colleagues in Merseyside. He pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and is now behind bars.

"This goes to show that the risk of getting caught after committing a crime has increased remarkably thanks to technology and our determined officers here and over the border. I hope this acts as a deterrent to other would-be thieves."

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