A drugged-up burglar has avoided a prison sentence after a woman woke up to find him in her bedroom.
Lee Witts, 49, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, where he admitted the late-night Newtonhill break-in.
When the homeowner woke up and asked who was there, Witts ran from the property, which had been ransacked.
Witts stole scarves and jewellery that were never recovered, the court heard.
Woman saw someone with torch
Fiscal depute Maliya Ngalam told the court that the incident took place at a property on Crollshillock Place at around 1.15am on May 21 last year.
The homeowner was asleep but awoke to see someone standing in her bedroom holding a torch.
As Witts dashed from the room, the woman woke her husband and they checked the house, which they found in disarray with clothes and other items strewn around the hallway.
The police were called and after an inspection of the house, it was found that scarves, necklaces and a black mobile phone had been stolen by Witt.
In the dock, Witts pleaded guilty to one charge of housebreaking and stealing a quantity of items.
He also admitted stealing a doorbell camera during a separate incident in Newtonhill on August 2 last year.
Drugs were ‘controlling his life’
Defence solicitor Shane Campbell told the court that his client had “no recollection” of these incidents as he was using heroin at the time, which was controlling his life.
“He has not had his problems to seek from a young age and it’s perhaps not surprising that he did fall into illicit drugs,” the solicitor said.
Mr Campbell said Witts had now been drug-free since December last year.
“He acknowledges that he has caused harm, and he wants to express how sorry he is to his victims – he has shown remorse for his actions,” Mr Cambell added.
Sheriff Margaret Hodge told Witts that he had admitted “serious charges” and “particularly breaking into someone’s house in the middle of the night”.
But she added that Witts had had a troubled life, had expressed remorse for his crimes and seemed to be dealing with his underlying issues.
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Hodge made Witts, of Turnstone Court, Newtonhill, subject to a community payback order with supervision for two years.
She also ordered him to carry out 270 hours of unpaid work.
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