Shoplifter bit police car and abused and threatened shop staff, court told

An attention seeking shoplifter bit a police car during a struggle with arresting officers.

Jonathon Wishart, currently serving a prison sentence for a near-identical offence, was arrested following a disturbance at Mountain Warehouse in the Murraygate, Dundee, last month.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard Wishart swore at staff who caught him shoplifting before leaving the shop and gesticulating offensively at a watching city centre CCTV camera.

Police arrived and told Wishart to “calm down” but he struggled with the officers and bit the police car, damaging the paintwork, before being restrained.

After being taken to police headquarters, it was discovered Wishart had stolen from the store, taking goods and outdoor accessories worth just under £30 without paying for them.

During questioning by police at the station, Wishart replied that the staff at the store had “deserved” what had happened.

His defence solicitor told the court Wishart had committed an offence with similar circumstances earlier in the month, which he was given a ninemonth sentence for.

He further told the court there was a mental health element to the case, with Wishart committing the shoplifting crimes as part of an attention seeking behaviour disorder and that he got a “thrill” from stealing.

Wishart had no official diagnosis as to what the difficulty was but that he was not stealing to fund a drug habit.

Wishart pleaded guilty to theft by shoplifting at the Mountain Warehouse shop in Dundee and threatening staff with abuse, shouting and swearing at them and damaging the premises, gesticulating, struggling with police officers and damaging a police vehicle with his teeth.

Sheriff Simon Collins QC deferred sentence until November 1 for criminal justice and social work reports.

Dundee Sheriff Court was told Jonathon Wishart has an attention seeking behaviour disorder.