East Kilbride News

Thief caught dangling from bedroom window

Crook is chased across dual carriagewa­y

- COURT REPORTER

A shocked woman caught an intruder dangling from her bedroom window with bags of her belongings.

Serial crook Joseph Kilna used his belt to lower stolen goods worth thousands of pounds to the ground before making off, a court heard.

Chased by the woman’s neighbour, he fled across a busy dual carriagewa­y.

Kilna, 55, admitted stealing a laptop, jewellery, watches, electrical goods and other items from a house in Maxwell Drive,

East Kilbride, on August 24, 2022.

He also admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice by giving a false name and address when quizzed by police officers.

Neil Thomson, prosecutin­g, told Hamilton Sheriff Court on Friday that a 24-year-old woman was in her home when the brazen theft happened during the afternoon.

He said: “She had left a number of items in her bedroom and hadn’t secured the front door.

“She was downstairs and became aware of a person effectivel­y hanging – suspending himself – from an upstairs bedroom window.

“He was in possession of two bags and was using a belt to lower one of the bags to the ground.

“The man then jumped down himself. A neighbour saw him and gave chase but Kilna ran off across a dual carriagewa­y despite heavy traffic, and the police were contacted.”

Kilna was identified on CCTV and arrested. The stolen goods were valued at £3500 and property worth around £1000 was recovered after officers searched an address in East Kilbride.

Defence lawyer Gerry Sweeney conceded Kilna is “no stranger to the courts”.

In 2017 he was jailed for four-and-a-half years for tying up and robbing a 16-year-old boy of computer equipment at his home in Giffnock, East

Renfrewshi­re.

Sweeney went on to point out: “He has had a long term dependency on various drugs that has led to his present difficulty.”

Sheriff Colin Dunipace jailed Kilna for 20 months, reduced from 30 months because of his guilty plea.

The sheriff told him: “You have an appalling record for this type of behaviour. This must have been a frightenin­g experience for the lady.”

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