Woman admitted forcing lockand stealing

A Perth woman was put firmly in the frame for a theft from a Perth pensioner’s garage after an alert neighbour snapped her near the crime scene.

Police quickly identified the person in the crimebuster’s mobile phone picture as Connie Robertson, who was known to them, and she was apprehended.

She was later traced and appeared at Perth Sheriff Court to admit forcing open the shed in Letham’s Kingswell Terrace and stealing three jackets belonging to a 75-year-old man who has a stall at the Errol Sunday market.

The 22-year-old, of Newhouse Road, Perth, escaped a prison sentence at Perth Sheriff Court.

Instead, she was ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and will be supervised by a social worker for a year.

Sheriff Gillian Wade told her: “Given your history of non-compliance, I will order a review of your progress on May 30.”

Robertson admitted forcing open the shed in Perth’s Kingswell Terrace on February 1 last year and stealing the items.

Depute fiscal Tina Dickie said the shed owner had left his home about 3pm when his neighbour spotted the accused who was with two other females in a car.

“It drove slowly past the house and the neighbour thought it looked as if they were checking to see if the householder was in.”

The accused then exited the vehicle and knocked on the door before going round the side of the property to the back garden.

“The witness then heard the sound of glass smashing on the ground and the next thing he saw the accused holding bags of clothing and walking away to the vehicle.”

He managed to photograph the accused - and police later “positively identified her” from that.

The jackets, each worth £20, were never recovered.

Solicitor David Holmes said his client had recently been freed from custody and had been drug free for the last few weeks.

She had never been given the chance to complete unpaid work and would be willing to engage with that.