A member of a gang of prolific car thieves who walked free from court after he promised to steer clear of trouble was back in the dock this week after being caught in a stolen car.
Jason Grant was spared a custodial sentence last year – despite admitting his part in a £37,000 hatchback heist which resulted in his co-accused being locked up for 15 months.
At the time Grant’s defence agent, solicitor David Sutherland, told the sheriff his client had vowed to turn his life around and would leave the gang of thieves if he was given this opportunity to avoid detention.
As a result Sheriff Marysia Lewis ordered the teenager to carry out 220 hours of unpaid work in the community, despite knowing he had targeted unlocked homes in the middle of the night before making off with expensive cars.
Grant, now 17, appeared back in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court this week and admitted committing a further four offences earlier this year.
On March 1, he stole a push bike from outside Tesco Express on Holburn Street, Aberdeen. Then on April 21 he was found to be a passenger in a stolen blue Toyota Avensis.
The vehicle was spotted at Torq Service Station on Great Northern Road, from where Grant also stole fuel the same night.
The teenager further admitted assaulting PC Gary Jobson on June 7 this year by attempting to bite him on the finger, while he was being detained.
Grant had been accused of a further eight offences, alleged to have been committed between March and June this year – including the theft of a black Honda. However his not guilty pleas were accepted by the Crown.
Sentence was deferred on the teenager, of 157 North Anderson Drive, until December for background reports to be carried out.
Sheriff Noel McPartlin remanded him in custody until then.
Four notorious teenage car thieves have already been locked up this year after targeting high-value, high-powered motors.
In June 17-year-olds Liam Smith, George Cowie and Blair Thomson were given periods of detention for stealing luxury cars worth hundreds of thousands of pounds from outside oil tycoon Sean Dreelan’s mansion.
The trio, who admitted carrying out a total of nine offences, scoped out the home of the millionaire before planning the thefts.
Cowie broke into the property at Drumduan House, Banchory-Devenick, stealing the keys for an Aston Martin Rapide, a white Porsche 911, a grey Audi A5 and a grey Toyota Land Cruiser, while Thomson stood at the bottom of the driveway and acted as a lookout.
The youths then drove away with the cars in the middle of the night.
The court heard the trio appeared at a friend’s house with the Aston Martin, exclaiming “we’ve got a beast”, then fled the scene.
In July Jed Duncan was sentenced to a year’s detention after a police stakeout led to him being caught getting into a stolen van with hundreds of pounds worth of drugs.
At the time Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard he was “obsessed” with cars and likely to continue to offend as long as he was at liberty.