Thief ‘upset’ to be caught in the act

A DESPERATE crook begged for mercy after being caught red-handed stealing a hoard of items after breaking into a Dundee home.

Alexander McLanders begged the residents not to contact the police before lying about his thieving behaviour.

The rampant offender denied stealing anything but was found with a wallet, passport and bank card belonging to the occupants after being patted down.

Six months earlier, barefoot McLanders made off with four broken laptops and a projector after breaking into the Dudhope Multicultural Centre.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard that on January 17 this year, one of the residents of a property on Clepington Road was woken at 6.40am by the sound of rustling in the living room.

Another resident went to investigate and found McLanders crouched in the living room with a phone torch on.

“Upset” McLanders was confronted and said: “Please, please I’m going to get the jail. I have warrants out. I didn’t take any of your stuff.”

The resident did not believe McLanders and ordered him to empty his pockets.

A passport, bank card and wallet belonging to the occupants were discovered.

Items had been moved around, including an Xbox, a laptop, a power tool, a white bag containing alcohol, pay slips and a passport.

Police were called and officers noted the kitchen window was insecure and the back door was open, with damage caused to the door frame.

In the earlier crime, a resident at Dudhope Court called the police after hearing loud banging coming from the St Mary Place centre at around 4.30am.

Officers attended and found the projector and a bag of coins on the ground.

McLanders, 42, was spotted in the tower block and police shouted for him to stop but he fled to the 14thfloor landing.

Prosecutor Lynne Mannion said: “Given the suspicious circumstances, the accused was searched and found to have a wristwatch in his joggers pocket. The accused was arrested.

“A search of the landings at Dudhope Court and the bin recess of floor 11 uncovered a bag containing electrical appliances including four laptops and a DVD player.

“The items were shown to the manager of the Dudhope Multicultural Centre who confirmed these items had been stolen from the locus. All of the laptops were broken.”

McLanders, a prisoner of HMP Perth, pled guilty to breaking into the Dudhope Multicultural Centre on June 14 2023 and stealing items and targeting the Clepington Road address on January 17.

The total value of the items involved was more than £1,300.

Sheriff Martin Edington sentenced McLanders to 18 months in prison.

Dudhope site.