Banged-up thug who helped mug teen girls admits more crimes
A thug must wait to hear his fate on crimes he committed because he is already serving three years for the terrifying knife-point robbery of two teenage girls.
Eric McCaffery, 42, was jailed after he joined Leighanne McDonald, 35, in targeting victims Emma Moore and Jodie Henderson as they waited for a taxi at the statue outside the University of the West of Scotland in Paisley.
McCaffery, of Ferguslie Park, Paisley, pounced on the girls as they waited on the cab around 2.30am on July 24 last year.
He ‘backed up’ McDonald as she pointed a knife at the victims and demanded they hand over all their money.
When the victims explained they only had a few £1 coins on them, McCaffery told them: “Youse have more because youse are phoning taxis.”
The youngsters were marched to an ATM in Broomlands Street, when a control room operator saw the incident on public space CCTV and alerted police.
Cops were on the scene within minutes and arrested McCaffery and McDonald.
McCaffery appeared from custody for sentencing for four other offences, including theft and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
However, defence agent Charlie McCusker asked for his client’s punishment to be deferred because he was handed the hefty prison sentence for the street robbery.
He said: “He appeared on an indictment matter and he was sentenced to three years.
“In addition to serving that sentence, he is very keen to take responsibility for his lifestyle in the past.
“He has made contact with the substance abuse centre in prison and I would ask that the court considers deferring sentence to see how he gets on in prison.”
The lawyer said McCaffery was only an “actor” in the street robbery, adding: “The female he was with robbed two girls and he was the ‘actor’ who followed this female in the incident.”
He said: “The court could call for a report from the prison rather than impose another custodial sentence.”
McCaffery pleaded guilty to charges of being found in the commercial premises of Abbey Vets, Canal Street, on January 14, 2018, with intent to steal.
He admitted stealing a mobile phone from the Bankhouse pub, Gilmour Street, on April 6, 2019.
He also pleaded guilty to being found in the garden of a house in Sandholes Street, Paisley, with intent to steal on September 16, 2019.
On the same date, he attempted to pervert the course of justice by handing police a false name and date of birth.
Sheriff Lindsey Kooner said she was deferring sentence on him for nine months when she would call for a report about his conduct behind bars.
He will discover his fate on December 21.
He is very keen to take responsibility for this lifestyle in the past