A serial thief who used a stolen car to steal bikes worth almost £5,000 as well as alcohol, barbecues and food worth more than £600 has been jailed.
William Hanratty will spend 20 months behind bars after admitting the two-day shoplifting and housebreaking spree.
The 39-year-old drug addict appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted two charges of theft by shoplifting, theft, and another of theft from a lock fast place. He also admitted the theft of a car and attempted theft of a car.
Fiscal depute Alison Reid said Hanratty, while acting with another man, helped himself to car keys, house keys, a mobile phone and watch from a house in Braehead Way, Bridge of Don, on June 3 this year.
He was spotted and challenged by neighbour, who saw him sitting in a car outside the property at 3.40am, and ran off.
However, the next day Hanratty used a stolen Ford Fiesta to make off with items he’d stolen from Co-op stores in Stonehaven and Peterculter.
In the space of just 60 minutes he managed to shoplift alcohol, food and barbecues worth £618.
A day later, Hanratty’s stolen getaway car was traced and found with a bike part inside.
This part, it transpired, was all that was recovered from the three bikes that Hanratty stole from a garage in Aberdeen’s Bayview Court on June 5.
“The complainer had stored three bikes in a garden shed secured with internal bolts and a padlock at the property,” the fiscal said.
“These were valued at £850, £2,500 and £1,300. The complainer noticed that the doors to the shed had been forced open and three bikes stolen.”
Hanratty’s defence agent Alex Burn said: “The motive behind this was his need to feed his drug habit.”
He said Hanratty had a record that included a list of crimes of dishonesty.
“He understands that he needs help,” the solicitor added. “He has put his hand up at a very early stage.”
Sheriff Ian Wallace jailed Hanratty, a prisoner at HMP Grampian in Peterhead, for 20 months, backdated to his remand date of June 2022, and banned him from
driving for 16 months.
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