A bungling robber tried to “put on an accent” when he and his accomplice burst into the wrong house and were met by a woman who was friends with one of their partners.
David Aird and Lee Brown – armed with a meat cleaver and spanner respectively – woke a couple in their Crossgates flat as they searched for a safe and rummaged around in their living room.
Aird had on a motorcycle helmet and Brown was wearing a face covering.
Both were wearing hi-vis jackets, black gloves and plastic bags taped over their shoes.
At one point Brown set fire to his glove as he tried to light a cigarette in the couple’s living room.
They later stole a set of car keys and made off the wrong way in the couple’s Toyota, after making “five or six attempts” to start it.
They also stole two mobile phones belonging to the householders.
Wrong house
Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard the robbery took place at a property in Droverhall Avenue at around 7am on May 22 2019.
Fiscal depute Jamie Hilland said Brown and Aird, both from Cowdenbeath, had been unsteady on their feet and appeared to be under the influence of drugs at the time.
He said: “One of the men said to (the woman), ‘if you don’t give us the key to the safe I will do something to your man’s head’.”
The crooks made demands for money and kept asking the couple, both in their 60s, for the key to a safe.
Mr Hilland said: “(The male) told the men that they didn’t own a safe, to which one of them responded, ‘we know differently’.
“He again reiterated that they didn’t own a safe.
“At that point, one of the accused said to the other that they’d been given the wrong information and were in the wrong place.”
The pair then went into every room in the property – and pulled the bed apart – before returning to the living room.
The fiscal said: “While in the living room, Lee Brown tried to light a cigarette and managed to set fire to his own glove.
“He then asked (the man) to light a cigarette for him”.
Voice ‘disguise’
Mr Hilland said the woman thought she recognised Brown from his voice, which he was “trying to disguise by putting on an accent”.
She referred to him as “Lee” and told him she thought she knew him but he denied knowing who she was talking about.
The court heard the woman was friends with Aird’s partner and knew both Aird and Brown through her, though not particularly well.
The fiscal said the woman described herself as being “absolutely terrified” during the robbery but her husband told police he “didn’t think they were that serious” and he “wasn’t scared”.
A neighbour had heard raised voices and as he returned from walking his dog, saw the robbers and noticed their “unusual appearance”.
Mr Hilland added: “The men got into the complainers’ Toyota and took five or six attempts to start the car, before driving the wrong way down the street, turning round and driving off”.
Phones and car recovered
About half an hour later, police spotted Brown and Aird beside the stolen vehicle in Cowdenbeath’s Bridge Street.
The two men ran off but Aird was later caught and the two stolen mobile phones were recovered.
In the meantime, shortly after the incident, the female victim went to a friend’s house to ask for help looking for the car.
She got a taxi to see her friend, Aird’s partner.
A mutual friend drove her around to search for the car and when she returned, Brown was there and “seemed under the influence”.
The woman told Brown what happened and asked for help finding her vehicle.
He left and returned to tell her where her car had been left and the vehicle, which had some damage, was recovered.
Brown was later arrested at the same house.
Court outburst
Aird, 50, of Broad Street and Brown, 34, of Woodside, pled guilty to the same charge.
They admitted assaulting the couple and threatening the man with violence while in possession of a meat cleaver and spanner and robbing them of their mobile phones, a set of car keys and a car.
Defence lawyer Susan Gibson, representing Brown, said her client had not been involved in any offending since 2019 and that his partner has been a “calming influence” on him.
The solicitor said he had also been working but gave it up recently due to the uncertainty of the court case
Aird’s lawyer Alan Davie, said his client was “realistic” about the consequences of the offence and had brought a bag to court.
Sheriff Charles Macnair told the pair: “This is an extremely serious offence, having been committed in someone’s house where they are entitled to feel secure”.
The sheriff remanded the pair, sparking an outburst from Brown who called the sheriff a “monster” as he was led down from the dock.
An associate in the public gallery could also be heard shouting the word “a****ole” towards the sheriff.
Sheriff Macnair adjourned sentencing until February 27 to obtain background reports.
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