Jail for shoplifter who pinched 11 jackets

A pre-Christmas shoplifting spree earned a Perth career criminal six months behind bars when he appeared at the sheriff court.

Forty-nine-year-old David McGregor, who has 20 pages of previous convictions, was feeling the winter chill three days before Christmas.

So he helped himself to 11 ladies’ jackets, worth more than £500, from the High Street branch of Marks and Spencer.

But the accused, who was high on drugs and has a history of bungling shoplifting offences and other crimes, had been caught on CCTV and was soon arrested.

The accused, of the Skinnergate Resettlement Unit, admitted stealing the jackets on December 22, 2020.

He was subject to a December 1, 2020, bail order from Dundee Sheriff Court at the time.

Solicitor David Holmes told the court: “He had taken a substance, thinking it was another substance, and has very little recollection of what was going on. The CCTV showed him in cold conditions, with very little for winter warmth.”

He pointed out that the bulk of the stolen goods were recovered.

Passing sentence, Sheriff William Wood told McGregor:“There’s no getting away from your record. I have got to send you to jail.”

He might not have been“aware”of what he was doing but he was subject to a recent bail order.