A violent, flashing serial thief has been caged after battering a Morrisons security guard just a week after getting out of prison.
Ian Gray admitted a shocking catalogue of offending, including dropping his trousers and performing a solo sex act in public.
Gray, 41, also pretended to steal a bottle of vodka from Morrisons on King Street as part of a “ruse” but repeatedly punched an employee who challenged him.
Walking into a student accommodation reception area and brazenly stealing a television off the wall was another of Gray’s 14 offences he admitted before Sheriff Andrew Miller.
Fiscal depute Kirsty Martin told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that Gray had turned up at Royal Cornhill Hospital on March 6 2020 and repeatedly rang the doorbell.
But when staff asked him to leave, he responded by pulling down his jeans and underwear and performing a sex act on himself.
He then left and the staff called the police.
On August 14 last year, Gray was seen by police “rummaging” through a vehicle in Park Place, Aberdeen, in the early hours of the morning.
‘Shouting, swearing and squaring up’
When challenged, Gray brazenly told officers: “I was walking along the road and saw the window open.
“I haven’t taken anything but if you hadn’t shown up I would have.”
On August 28 2021, Gray threatened a shop worker at Co-op on Union Street, warning: “Touch me and I’ll kill you.”
Gray also committed three shoplifting offences at The North Face on Guild Street on October 30, November 15 and December 9 2021.
And at Cotswold Outdoor Limited in Union Square, on November 30 2021, Gray threatened a member of staff who asked him to leave due to being banned.
He told him: “When I see you on the street I’ll stab you up.”
On July 30 this year, Gray visited Morrisons on King Street and, when asked to leave, began “shouting, swearing and squaring up” to staff.
He was escorted outside but began to “swing several punches” toward a security guard until nearby witnesses tackles him to the ground.
‘He’s rather fond of cocaine’
Ms Martin told the court: “During this, the accused managed to punch the security guard to the face twice, causing a small cut.”
At 4pm the same day, while at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Gray shouted and swore at police, using homophobic language toward one officer.
On August 6 this year, while acting with another man, Gray walked into the reception area of the Old Fire Station student halls on King Street, removed a TV from the wall and walked out with it.
On February 5 this year, Gray stole vinyl records from HMV on Union Street.
And Gray again targeted the HMV store on August 16 2022, stealing blu-rays and then resetting one of them at CEX.
Finally, on September 4 this year, Gray was caught red-handed inside a woman’s vehicle parked on Provost Rust Drive.
The woman challenged Gray and held him until police arrived.
The thief then handed over £2.60 in change and was also found with a £20 note, which he’d stolen from the vehicle.
Gray admitted a total of 14 charges, including public indecency, two charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards a retail worker, being within a vehicle with intent to commit theft and five charges of shoplifting
He also admitted reset, assaulting a retail worker, behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, theft, and theft from a vehicle.
Defence agent Peter Keene said his client had already spent some time remanded in custody over the offences and had demonstrated “good victim awareness”.
‘Give this man one last chance’
He added: “He apologises to them all.
“The fact of the matter is Mr Gray has two major difficulties.
“The first is that he has become reliant on drugs. He’s rather fond of cocaine.
“He attempts to steal items to fund his drug addiction.
“The other difficulty he has is a borderline personality disorder.”
Mr Keene went on: “What I’m asking m’lord is to give this man one last chance.
“During his remand, he has realised he takes drugs, he takes alcohol and the next thing he knows he’d committing some sort of offence – and he wants to stop doing that.
“He realises the only way to succeed in doing that is to address his drug taking.”
Sheriff Andrew Miller told Gray: “You were only released from a 10-month sentence on indictment for assault and robbery just over a week before you assaulted the shop worker in Morrisons by repeatedly punching him in his face when he challenged you in the course of his work.”
He ordered Gray, of Urquhart Road, Aberdeen, to be jailed for 18 weeks in relation to the unexpired portion of a previous sentence, and a further 10 months over the new offences.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.
