A Perth mum was woken in the dead of night by an intruder shining a torch across her bedroom, a court has heard.
The terrified woman went downstairs to find two men trying to make off with her television.
The raid on the family-of-four’s property in Hatton Road was part of a stealing spree by one-man crimewave Robert Craig.
The 39-year-old was not long out of prison when he struck at locations in and around Perth, including Caffe Nero, the North Port restaurant and Barnardo’s.
He made off with thousands of pounds worth of staff wages from the Bank Bar, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
Torchlight scanned the room
Fiscal depute Emma Farmer said Craig targeted the family home in Hatton Road during the early hours of January 29.
“All external doors had been secured but the occupants had mistakenly left a set of double doors downstairs unlocked.
“At about 4.20am, one of the household was woken by a torch shining and scanning the room.
“It left and then scanned the playroom.”
The woman alerted a family member in another room.
“Two men were seen within the property, carrying a television,” said Ms Farmer.
“When they were challenged, they dropped the TV and made their way out.”
The pair got away with an iPad, three passports, a bag containing £8,000 worth of photography kit, a jacket, bank cards and house and car keys.
One of the men was later identified through CCTV as Craig.
Café break-in
The court heard details of other thefts committed by Craig in and around Perth.
Ms Farmer said a member of staff arrived at Caffe Nero to begin her shift at 7am on January 18.
She put away her coat with her purse, bank cards, cash and a passport in the locked staff room.
Craig turned up “under the influence” later that morning but left after about 15 minutes.
A short time later, the employee received phone notifications from her bank, letting her know her card had been used.
She went home to check for her missing purse.
The shop manager then noticed the staff room door had been forced open.
Craig also struck at Barnado’s on Scott Street the same day.
He stole a volunteer’s purse from a back office.
The shop worker then received a text saying her bank card had been declined three times.
She found £220 belonging to the charity, as well as £60 of her personal money, had been taken.
Craig was spotted on CCTV at Tesco on nearby South Street, attempting to use the card to buy alcohol.
Sneaked in through fire door
Craig was also caught red-handed inside a bed and breakfast in Pitlochry.
Ms Farmer said the owner of the Rosehill Guest House, Atholl Road, returned from walking her dog on the morning of January 28.
She went into her private residence and came face-to-face with Craig.
He claimed he was looking for someone, before fleeing with an iPad.
Craig also stole from a twin room at Perth’s historic Royal George Hotel on February 11.
He made off with more than £2,000 worth of goods, including a Playstation 5, laptop and Nike trainers.
Craig went on to steal vitamins and paper cups from the front door of flats on North Port two days later.
The same day he crept into the back office of the Bank Bar and made off with £3,068 of staff wages from the float.
Ms Farmer said Craig was caught on CCTV getting in through a fire door.
The following evening, Craig was spotted descending a spiral staircase at the North Port restaurant in the city centre.
He left while clutching a selection of envelopes.
A staff member became suspicious and went upstairs, where she found the office door was slightly ajar and items were missing, including £500 cash, a wallet and bank cards.
Craig was caught with the items after a nearby resident spotted him on her Ring Doorbell camera trying her front door handle and called the police.
Prison ‘revolving door’
Craig appeared via videolink and pled guilty to three charges of theft by housebreaking, five thefts, an attempted housebreaking and fraud by attempting to use the charity shop worker’s bank card.
He went on his spree a short time after being released from prison, the court heard.
While behind bars, he had been working to get on top of a drug problem.
His lawyer said: “He found himself in financial difficulties and accommodation difficulties.
“He said the reason for these crimes was purely for financial reasons but he was doing quite well with his drug problem.”
Sheriff William Wood told Craig he was considering a supervised released order and deferred sentencing for background reports.
“We need to stop the revolving door you are currently in and offer you some support,” the sheriff said.
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