A man who tried to crawl through a smashed window dressed in camouflage went on to lead police on a high-speed chase on the A96.
James Lees was only apprehended after the five-mile police pursuit ended with a car crash in Elgin.
The 45-year-old repeatedly refused to stop, despite being tailed by two police vehicles with flashing blue lights.
His defence solicitor later described the episode as a “completely ridiculous set of circumstances” when his client appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court.
Fiscal depute Sharon Ralph said he was first discovered halfway through a broken window, after waking up the occupants of a house in Lhanbryde at 2am on June 3 last year.
‘Banging sounds and a disturbance’
She said: “Witnesses upstairs in a bedroom at Emslie Court were awoken by the sounds of banging and a disturbance.
“They got up and went downstairs and noticed the bottom portion of a glass window had been smashed.
“They could see a male in the bottom portion of the window who was dressed in a camouflage outfit.”
As the pair called the police, Lees was seen jumping into a blue Seat car and driving out of their street.
But the couple had already managed to note down the car’s number plate and pass the registration onto a 999 call handler.
“Police approaching St Andrews Road in Lhanbryde saw a dark-coloured car move from the junction at high speed onto the A96, heading towards Elgin,” the fiscal added.
“It was being driven erratically and officers followed – suspecting the person within was associated with the previous incident.
“It was accelerating harshly and being driven at speed.”
Speeding through Elgin
When officers caught up with Lees at Coxton Park services, just outside Elgin, they switched on their blue lights but he refused to stop.
As he continued towards Elgin town centre, another police vehicle joined the pursuit.
Both repeatedly signalled for Lees to stop, which he failed to do, accelerating along the A96 instead.
When the second police response vehicle pulled alongside him, Lees slammed on the brakes and overtook him, before speeding through the 40mph zone in Elgin.
Eventually, he lost control at a roundabout – mounting a grass verge and finally coming to a stop on East Road.
At the time, Lees had a passenger with him and police removed him from the vehicle.
He had to be restrained during a struggle against the handcuffs and the closing of a police vehicle door.
When taken to Elgin police station, he refused to give two samples of breath – as required of him.
Lees later appeared in the dock and admitted charges of dangerous driving, driving without insurance, resisting arrest and failing to comply with a breathalyser test.
‘Foolish and belligerent’
Defence agent Matthew O’Neill said his client had acted in a “foolish and belligerent” way.
“His recollection of the evening is extremely sparse and he can only imagine this is because he was in an extremely heightened emotional state at the time.
“He has been working to get on top of his issues.
“He accepts it was a completely ridiculous set of circumstances. He acted in an extremely foolish and ultimately belligerent way.”
Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood handed Lees, of Chanonry Road in Elgin, a three-year driving ban, two years of supervision, 180 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to resit an extended driving test to regain his licence.
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