Police issue warrant for prison drone man

Accused who gave bizarre reason for being in vicinity of jail now wanted after failing to appear for sentence

A prison drone smuggler who claimed a Romanian circus act stole his pet Chihuahua is being hunted by the police.

Offshore worker Philip Moreton came up with the bizarre excuse when he was found lurking in the undergrowth close to maximum security Perth Prison.

Moreton was found guilty at a trial of trying to fly a drone carrying a mobile phone into the jail, but a warrant has now been issued for his arrest after he failed to return to court to be sentenced.

The trial at Perth Sheriff Court heard how Moreton was caught red-handed after driving a getaway car into a cul-desac and was found hiding in bushes nearby.

The 33-year-old was heard rustling in the undergrowth after prison officers chased the 70 mph drone away from the outer wall of Perth Prison.

Moreton was spotted rushing the drone into the boot of his Audi but he did a U-turn and drove up a dead end with the officers blocking his escape.

Moreton claimed he was near the prison in the dead of night because he believed Romanian circus performers had stolen one of his pet Chihuahuas.

He said: “It was quite concerning because he had been missing for a few days. A guy came up to me in Home Bargains and told me that a Romanian circus were known to be stealing dogs and going off with them.

“We found out where the circus were going next. It was going to Perth, so we came through with the idea of looking for the dog. We were told the circus left the dogs outside at night.

“As daft as it might sound I brought the dog’s father – Archie – to see if he could find it.”

Moreton then claimed he was found in the bushes because he had downed a litre of vodka and had collapsed in the middle of the dog-hunt.

He said he had been using the drone to search the riverbank for the dog.

His solicitor Grant Bruce told the court: “It does seem incredible. Sometimes the most incredible stories are the ones that have to be believed.”

But Sheriff Pino di Emidio said: “His explanation is fanciful.”

He found Moreton guilty and deferred sentence.

Co-accused Cheyrell Davie, 38, was cleared after the sheriff ruled there was “insufficient evidence” to convict her.

She was found walking several miles away from the scene some time later.

Prison officers told the trial they could see the drone – still switched on – in the boot of the Audi Q3 alongside Moreton and Davie’s dog Archie.

One of the prison officers said: “I saw the drone over the roof of A Hall. The bag got winched up and it quickly left. It disappeared over the trees.”

He said staff ran out of the jail to follow the drone along the street and they eventually saw a man putting something into the boot of the Audi car in a nearby street.

Depute fiscal Robbie Brown said the court had heard no evidence of the circus being in Perth at the time, despite Moreton claiming he had driven 40 miles to search it for his Chihuahua.

“If you were searching for your dog was it not rather odd to get hammered on a litre of vodka?” the prosecutor asked. “Were you searching in the undergrowth for a Romanian circus?”

Sheriff di Emidio found Moreton guilty of trying to use a drone to fly a mobile phone into Perth Prison on September 18 2016.

Moreton, of Prosen Road, Kirriemuir, admitted having a phone in the prison on 4 May 2016.

Philip Moreton is wanted by police after failing to appear.