A man who admitted breaking a mirror in a Hamilton pub denied stealing a cell phone when he appeared in Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Tyari Harvey, 21, of Warwick, was charged with stealing the cell phone and breaking the mirror in Flanagan's pub on Front Street.

Crown counsel Oonagh Vaucrosson told the court that Harvey broke the mirror after having a conversation with someone.

Harvey admitted taking the phone, but said it looked exactly like his and he had not realised that it was someone else's.

"It was a misunderstanding," he said.

"I had alcohol in my system at the time and I thought the phone was mine."

He admitted picking up the phone and taking it to the bathroom, before making several local calls.

He then tossed a beer bottle at the bathroom mirror causing $189.94 damage.

Mrs. Vaucrosson said he had other similar convictions.

Although, Harvey could not remember when he last came out of prison, he said: "This is my first offence for a couple of years."

Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves asked: "Why were you so angry? Everybody has personal problems, even magistrates, but we don't walk about and steal.

"Are you going to come clean or are you going to play with me? Did you steal the person's phone?"

Harvey said: "I wouldn't have returned it if I had stolen it."

Mr. Greaves then changed Harvey's plea to not guilty even though he protested that he wanted to plead guilty ''to get it over with".

He was fined $250 for breaking the mirror or 40 days in prison and $189.94 in compensation and was granted $1,000 bail to return to court on April 25 for the matter of the theft.