A man who broke into an Aberdeen cake shop and stole more than £600 has been jailed for 18 months with his accomplice handed a community payback order.
John Gallagher, 31, and Max Milligan, 23, were found guilty of the offence at Shakes ‘N’ Cakes on the Spital following a trial last month.
The duo had denied the crime but a jury took a little more than an hour and a half to find them guilty.
During the trial the court was shown CCTV footage from inside the shop of Gallagher and Milligan tampering at the till and using a crowbar to try to open a safe.
Gallagher’s defence agent Ashley Pollock asked for her client to be given a community payback order to help his rehabilitation.
She said: “He moved to Scotland in 2019 for a fresh start.
“Mr Gallagher appears to be dedicated to change.
“His partner is a prosocial influence on him.”
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Defence agent Iain Hingston, who is representing Milligan, said his client was focused on finding a job.
Mr Hingston said: “He has been speaking to me, he is trying to find employment and has a number of interviews lined up.”
Sheriff Philip Mann said he could see “no alternative” but to send Gallagher to jail.
Speaking to Milligan – of Bayview Court, Aberdeen – Sheriff Mann said he may benefit from assistance from social workers.
He said: “Your record isn’t quite as serious as your co-accused.
“There is hope your life could be transformed with a period of supervision.”
Milligan was handed a community payback order with 18 months of supervision, 300 hours of unpaid work and a six month restriction of liberty order.
Shop owner Haroon Ahmed said: “They were sort of covered, but CCTV did catch their faces, all their faces.
“We’ve just installed a new alarm system and our safety precautions have increased.
“It’s a bit of a wake-up call to be honest.”
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