Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Addict jailed for charity shop theft
A DRUG addict kicked down the doors of a charity shop and broke into an office, stealing a safe and a charity donations box containing cash.
Ryan Mitchell, 37, of Hilltown Court, was captured on CCTV in Murraygate at 4.38am on October 21 last year, standing in the doorway of the British Heart Foundation shop with his back to the door, kicking it.
Fiscal depute Charmaine Gilmartin told the court the accused was next seen by a delivery driver at 7am, crawling out of the shop doorway carrying the safe and the other items.
“The driver shouted at the accused to put the items down and he put the bag down but lifted the safe out of the bag and continued to walk away,” the fiscal said. “The driver did not have a mobile phone so he stopped a passerby and asked him to phone the police. The police attended and the passerby took the officers down to Pullars Close where he had seen the accused going down.” She said the safe and a high-visibility vest were later recovered.
The fiscal added that at 8.30am the same shop worker who had locked up the previous night attended and discovered the breakin, finding blood within the counter area. “The safe which had been bolted to the floor had been removed and a number of items had been rummaged through,” she said.
Police spotted Mitchell through other CCTV footage at Tesco in Murraygate and the accused was arrested on Saturday, November 25.
Mitchell, representing himself, said he was on Valium at the time and could not recall events leading up to the break-in.
He said he had been withdrawing from heroin and was “disheartened” to have broken into the charity shop.
“I’m just upset that I’ve done this, I’ve promised my father that I won’t take Valium again,” he said.
Mitchell admitted breaking into the shop and stealing a safe, a jacket, a quantity of coins in a donations box and other donated items.
Jailing him for eight months, Sheriff Alastair Carmichael told Mitchell: “You have a fair old record for previous convictions but due to your early plea and the fact you have been in custody since November 27 I will give you the maximum discount and backdate the sentence until then.”