Police were alerted to a burglar in a fried-chicken restaurant by the owner of another poultry store next door, a jury has heard.

Abdul Hakeem of Arabian Chicken on Court Street rang for help after hearing loud banging from inside Island Chicken in the early hours of January 6 last year.

Police arrested Brian Carlton Rogers of North Terrace, Pembroke, after they later discovered him under a boat in a nearby parking lot.

The 45-year-old is currently on trial at Supreme Court, charged with breaking into the building, damaging a cash register and glass door, being armed with a crowbar and assaulting a Police officer.

He denies all the accusations.

In a statement read to the jury by a court clerk yesterday, Mr. Hakeem said events unfolded at around 3.45 a.m. on the day in question.

He said that having contacted the Police about noises at Island Chicken he said he saw a light-skinned black male inside the store with a crowbar in his right hand.

Mr. Hakeem said the intruder panicked and turned off the light before using the crowbar to smash his way out through the glass at the front of the shop and running off.

He said he watched as Police officers ran after the suspect.

P.c. Veronica Outerbridge said she chased the man to a nearby church where she grabbed the leg of his pants as he tried to scale a wall. However, she said, he kicked her in a bid to get away, leaving her with an injury to her right wrist and a scratched left hand. Her wrist was not broken, but she said the injury meant she was put on light duties.

Detective Constable Alan Looby, who apprehended Rogers, told the court he saw him kick Pc Outerbridge. He said the suspect made off after this incident but was subsequently found hiding under a boat in a parking lot adjacent to Jamaican Grill on Court Street. The officer said a sweating Rogers asked: “What happened? I was here all the time.” Det. Con. Looby arrested him on suspicion of burglary.

The case continues.