Romanian man in court charged with looting house left vacant after rioting in Ballymena

Standing handcuffed in the dock of Coleraine Magistrates Court, 24-year-old Sergio Varga spoke through an interpreter to confirm his name and that he understood the two charges against him.

Varga, of no fixed abode, was charged with burglary of a property on Clonavon Terrace on 19 June where he allegedly stole household goods to the value of £3,000 and with theft of £13 of food from Braid River Service Station on 9 March this year.

Taking each incident in turn, a police officer recounted how Varga had walked in to the filling station, concealed various food items under his coat before walking out ‘making no attempt to pay.”

On 19 June, she told the court, a resident of a house on Clonavon Terrace reported that her house had been burgled.

“The injured party reported that she had to leave her address on 14 June due to the disturbances in the town,” said the officer, adding that when the victim returned on 19 June, she discovered “an upstairs window had been smashed…and that all of her valuable belongings had been taken.”

The court heard that having “made some enquiries in the local community,” Varga was identified as the alleged thief but when the victim spoke to him, he claimed “he was only keeping them (her belongings) for safe keeping.”

The officer added that as well as the victim not giving anyone permission to enter her home or remove her property, “while she was trying to locate the defendant she saw a male person wearing a set of headphones that belonged to her.”

The victim spoke to that man and he claimed he had bought the head phones from Varga for £11.

Arrested and interviewed, Varga “admitted taking the items but said that he found them outside and that he did not enter the property at any stage.”

Objecting to bail, the officer said Varga had been sleeping rough and had no bail address to go to.

Commenting that the charge amounted to “looting of a home which had to be evacuated because of the recent rioting,” District Judge Peter King said while he would grant bail, Varga would not be freed until he had an address police approve of.

Granting bail in the sum of £500 and adjourning the case to 17 July, the judge barred Varga from entering Clonavon Terrace, from the filling station and from contacting the victim.