A drink-driving Aberdeen car thief has been banned from the road for more than two years after a string of offences.
Finley Leisk stole not one but two cars in the space of just hours, abandoning both when spotted by the police.
The 21-year-old was caught nearby the second vehicle – which he had been driving dangerously while also over the alcohol limit.
Fiscal depute Rebecca Thompson told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the first incident happened in the early hours of June 21 last year at an address on Great Western Road.
The owner of a silver Volkswagen Caddy was woken by the sound of a car alarm outside.
On looking out of his window, he saw his car being “reversed at speed” out of the communal car park and driving away.
The witness and his partner contacted the police and, on entering their kitchen, noticed a gin bottle on the counter that wasn’t there earlier.
‘Self-destruct mode’
On further investigation, they discovered keys, sunglasses, bottles of alcohol and a wallet were missing, with various drawers left open.
They could not remember locking the front door so concluded entry had been gained that way.
At 3.20am the same morning, police spotted the stolen Caddy on Countesswells Road and North Deeside Road heading towards Anderson Drive and Great Western Road.
It was briefly lost to sight before being spotted again on Summerhill Drive having sustained damage.
Two males dressed all in black were seen to get out and flee towards North Anderson Drive.
CCTV was checked and showed Leisk running through a building site after abandoning the vehicle.
Leisk’s DNA was found on a stolen bottle of sake found inside the car.
Sparks flying from bottom of car
In another incident the same night, Leisk stole a red Volkswagen Fox from outside a sheltered accommodation complex on Rosewell Gardens.
At 4.45am on June 21, police attended due to a report of the Fox being driven dangerously on Ellon Road.
The man, who had been asleep, confirmed his car had been stolen.
Around 20 minutes earlier, police on patrol in a marked car on the Parkway saw the Fox being driven towards them on the wrong side of the road before returning to the correct lane.
Officers attempted to follow the car as it drove on the wrong side of Ellon Road towards Balmedie into oncoming traffic.
The vehicle appeared “lopsided” and sparks could be seen flying off where it scraped against the road surface.
It was lost to sight and discovered abandoned on the A92 near the Blackdog junction of the A90.
It was extensively damaged.
Eight minutes later, a witness contacted police to say a male had attended at his address topless, stating that he’d been in a car accident and asking to borrow his phone.
‘Age and immaturity may have played a part’
The witness took a photo of the man.
Officers then found Leisk on a slip road near the Blackdog junction.
He failed a breath test and was arrested.
While in custody, Leisk became verbally abusive towards officers, making both racist and homophobic comments.
Leisk, of Polo Gardens, Aberdeen, pled guilty to theft, two charges of theft of a vehicle, dangerous driving, drink-driving at almost double the legal limit, and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
Defence agent Lisa Reilly said her client, who had been on a bail curfew since June last year, had limited recollection of the offences “due to issues surrounding alcohol”.
She described Leisk as being in “self-destruct mode” at the time.
The lawyer continued: “The social work report author advises age and immaturity may have played a part.”
Ms Reilly said Leisk had acknowledged his actions were dangerous, expressed guilt and was no longer abusing alcohol.
She added he had significant mental health issues and had never received a prison sentence before.
Sheriff Ian Wallace warned Leisk: “You’re getting to the stage with your offending the court will soon have no option but to give you a custodial sentence. But I’m going to refrain from that today.”
Instead, the sheriff imposed 180 hours of unpaid work, 18 months of supervision, a nine-month curfew and a 27-month driving ban.
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