Car thief jailed for two years

A thief who admitted stealing two cars, one from a Stirling address – as well as entering a third unlocked vehicle and nicking cash and car keys – this week received a two-year jail sentence.

Twenty-five-year-old Jack Hughes, whose address was given as Low Moss Prison, appeared at Stirling Sheriff Court on Wednesday via video link.

He had admitted stealing a Seat from an address in Torbrex’s David Avenue, along with stealing a Volvo from a Larbert address and entering an unlocked sports car in Rollock Street, Torbrex.

Hughes had stolen cash from the car parked in Rollock Street, car keys and a bottle of aftershave.

He further admitted a charge of being found within a Larbert address in suspicious circumstances. All of the offences occurred on February 28 last year while Hughes was on bail on a number of separate matters.

Co-accused Connor Kay, 26, of Grangemouth, admitted charges of stealing another car, a Ford, from a separate David Avenue address on February 28, 2022, and driving the vehicle in Bonnybridge without insurance while on bail on another matter.

Stirling Sheriff Court heard that Hughes had been in custody since March last year on the matter before the court, as well as another matter.

His lawyer Martin Morrow told Sheriff Keith O’mahony that his client appreciated that a custodial sentence was inevitable.

The last“substantive”matter on Hughes’record dated back to 2018 and there were no similar convictions or charges currently before the courts.

Mr Morrow said Hughes had already served the equivalent of a two-year sentence.

Sheriff O’mahony told Hughes that the offences before the court amounted to a course of conduct and he had no choice but to impose a cumulative custodial sentence of two years’imprisonment, backdated to March 21 last year.

This term, he added, had been reduced from two years and six months due to the timing of the guilty pleas and included three months for bail aggravations.

The court was told that Kay had an outstanding Community Payback Order case. Sheriff O’mahony told Kay he wanted to know its outcome before passing sentence. He deferred sentence on Kay until April 12 on the charge of stealing the car from the David Avenue address and continued bail meantime.

Kay was admonished on the charge of driving without insurance and his licence was endorsed with six penalty points, reduced from eight.