A thief who “came back from the dead” was arrested by police for a break-in hours after paramedics gave up trying to revive him.
Peter MacAllister’s friend Nadia Neary gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when he collapsed on her living room floor after a suspected heroin overdose.
An ambulance and police arrived as a routine response to the emergency in Inverness on November 17.
But when officers were in Ms Neary’s flat in the city’s Mackintosh Road, they spotted a gift bag from a city opthalmologist containing electrical items and two glasses cases.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that the next day, a break-in was reported at eye specialists Goskirk and Pettinger with two computers, cash and other items – including a gift bag – missing.
The jury was told that uniformed officers who had been at the flat told detectives what they had seen and returned to ask Ms Neary for the item.
They later searched the premises and found MacAllister asleep and a laptop.
Det Constable David Rennie told fiscal Roderick Urquhart: “Other goods which were later identified as belonging to the business, including a netbook, an opthalmascope and a glasses case were found on a chest of drawers.
“Mr MacAllister was detained and told we were investigating a break-in, and he made two unsolicited comments. The first was ‘How can it be housebreaking when it is a business.’ And the second was ‘Did the ambulancemen tell you about the gift bag?'”
MacAllister denies breaking into the premises and stealing an opthalmoscope; its charger; a quantity of glasses frames; a notebook and laptop computers;a sunglass case: £50; a cordless phone, keys and a gift bag.
Earlier the court was told that paramedics had been trying to revive MacAllister for several minutes and had just given up when he “came back”, his defence lawyer Willie Young said.
Ms Neary said: “Peter was unresponsive so I gave him mouth to mouth until the ambulance came.
“I didn’t see him with bags or laptops but I wasn’t paying much attention.”
Mr Urquhart closed the Crown case and the defence will begin this morning. The trial is expected to end later today.
ends