Billionaire oilman's son charged with burglary

The son of a billionaire oil tycoon has been charged with burglary after he was found hiding under a desk in a fly fishing shop, US police said.

Michael Pickens, 51, of Nocona, Texas, spent three days in jail following his court appearance on Monday.

He is the son of billionaire oilman T Boone Pickens.

He was found last Sunday in the Housatonic Meadows Fly Shop, Cornwall, Connecticut after the store’s manager noticed something wrong and called police.

Pickens had called at the store earlier in the day, chatting about football and portraying himself as a high-powered stockbroker on a fishing holiday, the store’s manager, Devin “Moe” Booth, said last night.

A few hours after closing the store last Sunday night, Booth returned and said he discovered that someone had forced open a back window to break in, then tossed reels, weights and other fly-fishing items valued at about $3,000 (€2,400) into a cooler.

Booth said he discovered Pickens sleeping in the foetal position under a desk, his face resting on his folded hands.

“I shake him and he jumps up like a jack-in-the-box,” Booth said. “He just keeps saying over and over, ‘You said I could use the phone anytime’.

“I say, ’Dude, even if I did, you don’t break in and steal stuff and fall asleep under my desk’,” Booth said. “He’s got this look on his face the whole time like he did nothing wrong.”

Pickens could not be contacted yesterday. His wife, Donna, said he was not at their home in Nocona, and she would not comment. A call to his New York lawyer was not returned.

Pickens was charged last year with securities fraud in New York and had been freed on $500,000 (€395,000) bail. He faces 20 years in jail if convicted.

As a result of the arrest in Cornwall, Pickens has now been ordered to appear at US District Court in New York for a bail status hearing.