Man stole weapons from castle
A MAN who broke into a castle to steal old weapons has been jailed after he was caught on camera.
Robert Goncarov has been sentenced to 25 months behind bars for the burglary at Staffordshire’s historic Tutbury Castle.
And castle curator Lesley Smith said she was thrilled by the court outcome.
Goncarov, 24, twice broke into Tutbury and snatched treasured replica weapons, all of which are still missing.
The grade I-listed site is best known as one of the places where Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned.
She was held there on four occasions, the longest for 14 years and the last in January 1585, two years before her execution at Fotheringhay in Northamptonshire.
The importance of the castle was recognised at Stafford Crown Court when Goncarov’s actions were described by the judge as an “attack on a scheduled monument”.
This led to a longer sentence for the thief – a precedent welcomed by Lesley, who is now writing to Historic England, informing body of the strong sentence.
She hopes it will make criminals think twice before targeting historic sites.
Goncarov, from Woodville, Derbyshire, appeared in court, charged with burglary and attempted burglary at the castle between January 1 and 4.
He had denied the the offences before magistrates, and was due to stand trial but pleaded guilty at the last minute.
During his first raid on the castle, Goncarov stole a safe and its contents, including a knife, a gun, alcohol and a dagger.
Damage caused had been mated at around £2,000.
“The first time he did it, I received a call from a member of staff who arrived on site first to say there had been a break-in,” said Lesley. “We normally have someone on the premises sleeping here, but didn’t that day.
“We saw on our cameras he was kicking the back door and threw a chair through a window. There was a hand print in blood on the wall.
“I came in and saw the door had been ripped off and some weapons had been stolen.
“They were stage pieces but some I had used to show children in schools over the past 20 years so they hold some memories.”
Following the first attack, the castle stepped up its security. But Goncarov returned for more – and was tracked down by the police. esti-