A drug addict terrified four sleeping students as he crept around their bedrooms in the dead of night.
One young woman barricaded herself in her room after waking and discovering John Mitchell in the room of her sleeping flatmate.
Mitchell, who was high on crack cocaine at the time, then entered another bedroom in the property, with the occupant waking to find the 40-year-old standing over her.
Upon leaving the property, Mitchell walked straight into police officers, who had been called to Dundee’s Seafield Close to deal with reports of a second suspicious male.
Depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson told Perth Sheriff Court: “The locus is a terraced house near the University of Dundee, which was occupied by four female students who were all 22 years old.
“Shortly after 12am all of them were in their rooms. One woman woke after hearing noises outside.
“She left her bedroom and went to her flatmates bedroom, where she saw the accused. She was scared and ran to her own room and held the door closed.”
Ms Robertson said that the occupant of the room has been “really shaken up” after discovering Mitchell had been in her room as she slept.
Another student described seeing a “silhouette” as Mitchell moved about her room, causing her to scream.
Police arrived on scene after being alerted to a different male behaving suspiciously. He cannot be named due to ongoing court proceedings.
Ms Robertson continued: “Male A was standing on a wheelie bin and officers pulled him down. Several minutes later the front door of the property was unlocked and the accused emerged.”
Mitchell’s solicitor said his client was under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident.
He said: “Mr Mitchell has very little recollection of the incident. He has long-standing drug issues and this was committed while under the influence of crack cocaine.”
Sentencing Mitchell, Sheriff William Wood told him: “You are a frequent offender and thief. This was a brazen crime where you crept into a flat occupied by these women and crept from room to room despite the fact they were occupied. I consider a custodial sentence to be the only option.”
He jailed Mitchell for two years.
Mitchell, a prisoner at Perth, admitted breaking into the property in Seafield Close with intent to steal on September 6.
