A man has been banned from leaving his house at night for nine months after stealing more than £1,000 of goods from a scale model shop.
Jason Yule, 36, appeared at at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to stealing car sets from Models Unlimited on North Street in Inverurie.
Procurator fiscal Carrie Stephens told the court a staff member at a bar close to the specialist model shop heard the alarm going off in the early hours of the morning on August 12, 2016.
He phoned the police after noticing the front window of the premises had been smashed and saw a man running away from the scene with a bag.
She told the court Yule was later traced, and at 11.30am officers arrived at his home.
The fiscal said: “When he was being taken to the police station, he told the officers he knew why they wanted to speak to him, and told them the models were in a cupboard in his address.
“The police later searched the accused’s address and recovered the items.
“They were Scalextric products and a model motorcycle, with a value of £1,100.”
Defence agent Peter Keene said: “At the time, he had drunk far too much, and he had a heroin addiction.
“Since then, he has given up drinking. He lives quietly with his little dog.”
Mr Keene asked Sheriff Sukhwinder Gill to consider alternatives to unpaid work in the community, because Yule feared it would put him back in contact with his “old mates”, and he might slip back into “bad habits”.
Sheriff Gill said: “This is a serious matter – you broke into a commercial premises to steal their property.
“However, I note your last conviction was in 2014.
“I am prepared to give an alternative to custody.”
He was sentenced to be placed under supervision for the next 12 months, and a restriction of liberty order preventing him from leaving his home from 8pm to 7am for nine months.
George Findlay, the owner of Models Unlimited, said the repairs to the window and loss of earnings has cost his business thousands of pounds.
He said last night: “The sentence is disappointing, but it is not unexpected.
“I really don’t think it’s going to put him off.”
