Drunk man caused £45,000 of damage with stolen digger
A man stole a digger after an all-day drinking session and destroyed a Spar store as he tried to make off with an ATM machine was jailed for two years yesterday
Duncan Elrick, 35, caused £45,000 worth of damage to the shop and the digger during the incident. He then fled with three bottles of whisky.
He was jailed yesterday at Elgin Sheriff Court for his “completely haphazard and unprofessional” crime.
The court heard that he went out at 3am to buy more alcohol on 19 January, 2019.
On discovering the shop was closed, Elrick decided, on the spur of the moment, to steal a digger parked nearby that was being used for roadworks in the area. He had heard recent news reports of similar crimes.
Witnesses on the street watched him driving on the wrong side of the road towards the shop with the lights flashing and beeping on the vehicle.
Depute Fiscal Kevin Corrans told the court Elrick used the arm of the digger to attack the shop front on Regent Street in Keith, Moray, and witnesses heard a loud bang at about 3:50am.
He said: “He barged into the front of the shop and used the arm to go directly through the ATM several times, with witnesses believing he was trying to break into it. With the shopfront completely destroyed, his focus still seemed to be on the ATM.
“After the incident, the police searched the vicinity and could not find any sign of the suspect but shop staff showed them footage of what happened.”
The court was shown CCTV footage of the destruction caused by Elrick, who only managed to steal three bottles of whisky from the shop and left a trail of debris in his wake.
Elrick was caught after he headed back to the scene of the crime and walked past smiling and was noticed by one of the officers.
The shop had to close for five days for repairs to be carried out.elrick admitted stealing a digger, attempting to force open an ATM with intent to steal, breaking into the Spar and theft, culpably and recklessly driving the digger and driving while disqualified.
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov jailed him and banned him from driving for ten years.