A man who went on a failed housebreaking spree in Kinghorn with a former prison buddy has been jailed again.
Brandon Stewart was also sentenced for mounting a pavement to flee police and hiding an iPhone in his underwear while in prison.
Stewart, who also goes by Brandon McMillan, was found in the curtilage of four homes in the village in the early hours of the morning on June 1, as well as in the nearby Lovell Homes construction site.
The 21-year-old was first caught in Birch Avenue, when he triggered a doorbell CCTV system.
The occupant had locked the back door and gone to bed but received a notification on her phone at 5am to say someone had been at her door around two hours earlier.
Footage showed the accused, not known to her, attempting to open the door.
Stewart also tried his luck at properties in Rowan Wynd.
He was spotted in the street with another individual who was carrying a “red implement similar to a crowbar.”
The pair were spotted walking on the pavement by a resident who formed the view both men were going to steal.
Construction site sneak-in
Shortly after 4 o’clock that morning, the pair made their way to the residential building site at Lochside Grange.
A neighbour was woken up their dog barking “frantically.”
Fiscal Depute Jamie Hilland said the anxious neighbour looked outside and “saw two men walking down the street wearing tracksuits with their hoods up.”
The men then climbed over the wall and entered the building site and opened the door to the on-site office.
Mr Hilland added: “The witness phoned police and watched the men leave and walk away.”
The pair disappeared in Stewart’s silver Kia Rio and down the B923 in the direction of Burntisland.
Foiled break-in
On the same night, Stewart also attempted to gain entry to a property in Willow Crescent.
Mr Hilland said: “(The householder) went to bed after locking the front and back doors.
“At around 4.15am, she was woken by the sound of banging coming from outside at the rear of the property.
“She saw two men in the back garden attempting to gain entry.”
Stewart’s companion had a crowbar and was trying to get inside.
They were disturbed by the home owner and fled, leaving behind cracks in the door and red paint marks from the crowbar.
Prison phone found
McMillan appeared by video link at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court where he was also sentenced for having a forbidden mobile phone at HMP Polmont last year.
A pair of prison officers had conducted a search of his cell on Valentine’s Day.
Mr Hilland said: “An iPhone fell from the accused’s boxer shorts.”
Banned driver Stewart was also sentenced for a trio of driving offences he committed on June 20.
Stewart, 21, had been banned from driving following a conviction at Edinburgh Sheriff Court but was spotted behind the wheel by police on Nithill Drive in Burntisland, turning onto Cotburn Crescent.
Officers attempted to intercept the vehicle, but mounted the kerb and drove on the footpath to get away.
Limited intelligence
His defence solicitor Emma Todd said: “He is 21 with a very long list of previous convictions.”
Ms Todd explained Stewart had never had any formal education and had taken “excess Valium” when he tried the doors in Kinghorn.
She added: “He has very limited intelligence.
“His mental health is at rock bottom since being remanded in custody.
“He is no stranger to prison.”
Having recently become a father, Ms Todd hopes this influence will help Stewart turn his life around.
“He spent the majority of his last four or five years in custody,” she said.
“The difference now is that he has something to live for.”
Jailed
Sheriff Keith O’Mahony said there was no alternative to custody.
For the attempted housebreakings, Stewart received 18 months behind bars, and for the driving offences he received a further four months and was banned from driving for four years.
Sheriff O’Mahony admonished him for the phone offence.
