Man jailed for breaking into technology shop for second time

Douglas Courthouse heard it was the second time Michael Bergquist had targeted the shop

A man who broke into a technology shop in the Isle of Man's capital on Christmas Day has been jailed for 20 months.

Michael Bergquist, 47, kicked the door open at the iQ store in Victory House on Prospect Hill before attempting to steal about 70 iPhones.

Eight of the phones, valued at more than £5,000, are yet to be found.

Douglas Courthouse heard the 47-year-old had served jail time for attempting to burgle the same shop in 2021.

The court heard police were alerted to an alarm at the store in Douglas at about 01:40 GMT on 25 December and Bergquist was seen inside with a black bin bag over his shoulder.

Discarded phones

After he ran away, he was identified through CCTV footage which showed him walking on Nelson Street carrying a guitar over his shoulder shortly after the break-in.

While 11 of the phones, with a total value of £40,000, were found discarded in a corridor in Victory House, a further 48 were found in the bag in a lane alongside the building.

When police arrived at Bergquist's home in Lheannag Park in Douglas to arrest him, they found the clothes he was wearing during the break-in in the washing machine.

The hat he had been wearing was later found discarded in a wheelie bin near the Thirsty Pigeon pub.

He pleaded guilty to one count of burglary and six counts of criminal damage.

He also admitted driving without a licence and without insurance, after being spotted by police driving a vehicle on 10 November.

Sentencing Bergquist, Deemster Graeme Cook said he had subjected the store owners to a "really significant degree of loss".