A man with an “appalling record for housebreaking” has been warned to “get back on the straight and narrow” after being caught casing a garage on CCTV.
Paul Spears was captured on camera attempting to open the garage without success.
He admitted a charge of being on a property with intent to commit theft at Inverness Sheriff Court.
The offence happened on November 12 2020 in Portree Terrace, Inverness.
Fiscal depute Shamielah Ghafar said: “Upon viewing CCTV the witness viewed someone trying to open her garage door without success.”
Police were called and Spears, of Old Steading Road, Inverness, was subsequently charged.
Solicitor Graham Mann, for Spears, told the court his client had “not been in trouble for a while” and had managed to address a previous issue with alcohol.
Man with ‘appalling record’ offered ‘no excuse’
Referring to the incident he said: “There is no excuse. To his credit, he hasn’t offered any excuses for his involvement in this.”
Placing Spears on a community payback order with 90 hours of unpaid work in the community, Sheriff Sara Matheson said: “You are 52 now, you have got an appalling record for housebreaking.
“You need to get yourself back on the straight and narrow.”
