A man dubbed Scotland’s dumbest criminal, who left his court bail order papers at the scene of a break-in, has been ordered to carry out unpaid work.
David McGregor was spotted with his arm through the kitchen window of a bungalow on Perth Road, Dundee.
He was startled by a neighbour who had been watching him fumble around outside.
Officers arrested McGregor after finding his jacket lying on the ground near the window, with the court document tucked inside a pocket.
McGregor appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted a break-in with intent to steal on December 1 2020.
He also pled guilty to having an offensive weapon – a pair of pliers – in Glengarry Road, Perth, on December 30 last year.
The 51-year-old had appeared in the dock holding hands with Elizabeth Reid, who admitted breaking into a house in St Madoes and stealing an iPhone, smart watch and £310 in cash.
McGregor, who has been offending since 1988, was placed on supervision for two years and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.
Reid, 45, of Glenshee Road, Perth, was also placed on supervision for two years. She must complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
McGregor first earned his dubious nickname of the nation’s dumbest crook after ending up in hospital with a broken hip when he leaped from a house window after being disturbed during a robbery.
He swallowed a handful of stolen jewellery which showed up in a hospital stomach X-ray.
A police officer then waited at his bedside for nine days – and five enemas – before McGregor finally passed the jewellery.
Swinger’s time to pay
An oil worker who shocked guests by swinging from a hotel chandelier 60 feet above the ground has been told to go offshore to fund repairs to the £50,000 fitting. Ross MacPhail told a court he had become “infamous” as a result of the dangerous prank during a festive stay at Sleeperz Hotel in Dundee. His sentence was deferred to March to give him time to gather the funds.
No guilt in Marine base crash
An driver has been cleared of any criminality after a crash outside RM Condor left a man seriously injured.
Alexander Wood was acquitted of driving either dangerously or carelessly on September 12 in 2019 at Forfar Sheriff Court.
The 27-year-old, from Stone in Staffordshire, crashed his car into a BMW X2, causing both vehicles to leave the A933.
Heading north out of Arbroath near RM Condor, Wood began overtaking the BMW when it pulled out to pass a parked Volkswagen Polo in front of it.
The BMW flipped onto the verge while Wood’s Seat crashed into the Royal Marine base’s perimeter fence before catching fire.
A man was seriously injured in the crash.
However, a 25-year-old Royal Marine in Wood’s front passenger seat told the court: “We were already about to overtake the vehicle so there wasn’t much time to react.
“We hit them in the back of their vehicle.”
The part-heard trial had begun in July this year and finished this week.
Sheriff Derek Reekie acquitted Wood.
Paedophile’s flight
A convicted child sex offender was able to leave the country on a family holiday without telling police, despite being spotted by an off-duty officer while boarding his flight. Paul Scally, 42, was spotted in Edinburgh Airport as he left on a family holiday to Fuertaventura but the early morning warning was not picked up and Scally was not arrested until he returned from the sunshine beak.
County lines
A county lines dealer caught red-handed with a bag of heroin and a wad of cash has been jailed for 30 months.
Bricklayer Steven Dougan was arrested in Perth following a tip-off that he was trying to flood the area with class A drugs.
After the 32-year-old’s arrest, investigators swooped on his home near Falkirk and uncovered even more drug packages and paraphernalia.
Prosecutors said the haul was worth around £50,000.
Dougan appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin on September 10, last year, at the city’s Newhouse Road and at his home address in Larbert.
Sheriff Euan Duthie jailed Dougan after last month warning him to get his affairs in order.
Speeding but not racing
A pair of speeders were clocked at 101mph on the A92 in Fife. Jonas Mesa’s Tesla and Christopher Grant’s Mercedes had been stationary in the on-slip to the dual carriageway before accelerating off in front of a marked police car. It was accepted they were not racing – as the original charge had stated – but they were convicted of careless driving.
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