Connecticut Man Breaks Into Closed Restaurant, Spends 4 Days Eating, Drinking

A Connecticut man was arrested after he spent several days pillaging through the food and drinks in a restaurant that was closed because of the coronavirus lockdown. The man reportedly consumed thousands of dollars worth of food and alcohol.

It was on April 14 the New Haven police responded to a call about an unknown man who was asleep inside Soul De Cuba Café in downtown New Haven. The restaurant was closed due to measures against the coronavirus, and it was during the manager's routine check of the facility the man was discovered to be sleeping inside the outlet along with a bottle of rum.

The officers who arrived at the scene detained the man who was later identified as 42-year-old Louis Angel Ortiz. Security footage revealed he had been at the restaurant for four days before being discovered, having entered through a side window.

Over the course of the four days, he reportedly helped himself to the restaurant's food, liquor and beer. He also removed some beverages and properties from the building.

"Management estimated the loss of food and beverages at several thousand dollars," New Haven Police said in a statement. "The loss includes an estimated 70 bottles of stolen or consumed liquor."

Ortiz has been charged with third degree burglary, third degree larceny, first degree criminal mischief and failure to appear in court for an unrelated case.

In many places, restaurants had to close down due to the strict measures currently in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This has been an issue not just for many business owners, but also for those who rely on them, from patrons to the employees.

Last week, the United States released new guidelines on when establishments such as movie theaters and restaurants could reopen, including a list of criteria that states should follow as well as three phases to go through.

These phases will be rather like steps toward a "new normal," with each careful step gradually relaxing the social distancing protocols. According to Variety, Dr. Fauci noted in the press conference that even if some states could reopen "soon," a rebound in COVID-19 cases could lead to regions having to go back to enforcing "more severe" restrictions.