Marco Pierre White Jr, who has struggled with drug addiction, has a long rap sheet after years of run-ins with the law – he’s now admitted four counts of burglary following a crime spree
The son of Michelin star chef Marco Pierre White has admitted to smashing up an antique shop after stealing £1,500 worth of Jellycat toys.
Marco Pierre White Jr, who has been involved in a spate of burglaries and a decade of trouble, held his hands up to the raid in Westminster, London, on June 19. The former reality TV star has struggled with drug addiction, and the latest charge comes after he pleaded guilty to burgling a tattoo shop in Somerset last year.
It has been claimed White Jr, 30, caused over £40,000 worth of damage to the tattoo shop earlier this summer, an amount he disputes. Prosecutor Ravinder Johal said in court that he destroyed four mounted crystals at the shop.
Troubled White Jr burgled a deli in Kensington just weeks before, stealing a laptop, iPod, and a till. Days later, he smashed his way into a house in Chelsea, and caused £7,000 of damage to the front door of the property. Last month on July 21 he stole £1,500 worth of Jellycat plush toys after breaking into a shop in Barnes, south west London.
He appeared at Isleworth Crown Court, via video link, from HMP Wandsworth today. He admitted four counts of burglary as well as one count of criminal damage. Previously, the former reality TV star pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court. He entered those pleas again today.
Graeme Logan, defending, said: “Marco disputes the £43,000 figure relating to criminal damage. The figure appears to be an amalgamation for property stolen and damage to the property. That figure is disputed. I ask for seven days to submit that plea. With the allegation of robbery on May 25, which Mr White denies, an alternative plea of theft will be offered.”
Judge Edward Connell said: “There will be a hearing for that robbery charge at Isleworth Crown Court on September 2 this year. If the Crown does not accept it, a trial will be set for March 16 next year. I am going to adjourn your case for two weeks. You have pled guilty to serious offences both in the magistrates’ court and today, and at some point you will have to be sentenced for that.”
The former Celebrity Big Brother star had only been released from prison two months before burglary, and will be sentenced on 29 November after pleading guilty to one count of burglary.
His downfall began in 2016, just days after he was voted out of the Celebrity Big Brother house following shocking behaviour with his housemates, which prompted complaints from viewers and a formal warning. In one incident, he asked Laura Carter to “choke him” as she straddled him on the sofa, and was reprimanded when she later complained to producers about his “wandering hands”.
Days after being the first celebrity to be booted off the show, Marco Jr appeared in court after being stopped by police driving under the influence of cocaine. In January 2019, he was convicted and fined after unleashing a shocking tirade at police officers as they arrested him for being drunk and disorderly in a train station.
Seven months later, he was taken to a police station “kicking and screaming” after smashing windows during a furious row with his chef dad Marco Sr, and in 2022, he was jailed for 18 months after being convicted of 14 offences including racially aggravated abuse, heroin possession and carrying a knife.
In May last year, he was arrested after burgling an upscale deli in Bath, and was captured on CCTV smashing the window with a champagne bottle. He stole £250 from the cafe, which was featured on the Netflix show Bridgerton, and was identified by police after his trousers fell down during his escape, revealing his distinctive tattoos on his legs and rear end.
The owner of the cafe, Jon Ison, claimed this was the second time Marco Jr had stolen from him, and told The Sun that he also stole money from the charity box that was on the counter next to the till. “He probably thought he was in the clear but when he crawled back through the window he got his tracksuit caught on the frame and accidentally mooned his bare backside right at our CCTV cameras,” he said.
“The hilarious thing about this burglary is that we only knew it was him because his trousers got caught around his ankles and we could see his tattoos on his bum cheeks,” Jon added. His legal woes didn’t end there, as in August, he was sentenced to eight weeks in jail for stealing socks from a supermarket near his dad’s four-star hotel The Rudloe near Bath. Marco Jr also burgled The Crown Inn in the picturesque city, and stole £2,000 worth of cigarettes.