A drugged-up man who carried out a series of crimes over the course of 12 hours can give no explanation for his bizarre actions, a court has been told.
Colin Sutcliffe was first found raking through a stranger’s wheelie bin stating he was “looking for his bird” then moments later crashed his car into a caravan park fence.
The next morning he was found roaming around at a nearby farm wearing stolen agricultural clothing and stating he had “no idea how he got there”.
Fiscal depute Emma MacEwan told Elgin Sheriff Court that Sutcliffe, 30, was first spotted acting oddly behind the toilet block at Sandend Caravan Park near Banff on April 22 2021.
After a dog walker made eye contact with him at 10pm he stepped back into the shadows but continued to stare at her home next to the park.
Thinking this behaviour odd, the woman rushed home to tell her family there was a man watching their house.
‘Looking for his bird’ in a bin
Another witness meantime came across Sutcliffe raking through the woman’s outside bins.
Ms MacEwan told the court: “The witness asked what he was doing and he said ‘I am not doing anything’.
“They asked why he was looking through the wheelie bins at that time of night to which he replied ‘I am looking for my bird’.”
Just a few minutes later they heard the grinding of gears and a vehicle being “revved excessively” outside the house.
“This went on for some time before they heard the vehicle being reversed at high speed and the sound of it colliding with the wooden fence at the rear of the caravan park,” the fiscal added.
“The vehicle became stuck in situ on top of broken pieces of the fence. Witnesses came out and saw the accused trying for a few minutes to unstick the car by revving heavily.”
Knife found in kitchen
The following morning, at 6am, Sutcliffe was found at a nearby farm, less than one mile along the road, acting strangely again.
He was discovered when a worker arrived to start her shift at Broom Farm and discovered the kitchen door open and cupboards disturbed.
“A mobile phone and knife that didn’t belong to any staff there was found,” the fiscal added. “The witness then saw the accused walking within the farm area.
“She asked if he was lost and he said he didn’t know how he got there. He was wearing clothing that belonged to the farm.
“She asked that he return that, which he did, and he was wearing a black hoody and black jogging bottoms underneath.”
Police were called and Sutcliffe was traced and arrested while walking along the A98.
He asked officers: “Can you get my phone from the farm? That lady said they had it. I didn’t break in, I just fell asleep.”
Only memory is of ‘being cold’
Sutcliffe has been held on remand at HMP Grampian for 78 days and appeared via video link to admit charges of careless driving, theft and intention to commit theft.
His defence agent Grant Dalglish said: “Given the passage of time Mr Sutcliffe cannot give any real instructions as to what was going on here.”
He said that “substances had been taken” and Sutcliffe’s memory in relation to being at the farm was simply that “he was cold”.
Taking into account the amount of time spent on remand, Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov admonished Sutcliffe, formerly of Forres and now of Morvenview Road, Gardenstown, and added five penalty points to his driving licence.
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