A pair of dopey car thieves were caught after leaving their DNA and fingerprints inside plush Range Rovers they stole from Dundee driveways.
Robbie Mill and Ryan Robertson nicked the cars in the early hours of the morning from various addresses, while acting with others.
Dundee Sheriff Court was told how the vehicles, which had keyless ignitions, were found in Fife towns with fake registration plates.
The pair will be sentenced in January after pleading guilty to four offences committed between October 2022 and April 2023.
Stolen Range Rovers
Prosecutor Lee Corr detailed how Mill, of Poplar Grey Court, stole two Range Rovers worth a combined £50,000 from Strathyre Avenue and Emmock Woods Crescent, respectively, on April 19 2023.
Owners of both vehicles parked their cars overnight before waking to discover them missing.
Referring to the Strathyre Avenue theft, Mr Corr said: “The vehicle was discovered in Kelty, where it was noticed the registration plates had been changed.
“The vehicle was confirmed to be the same after checking the identification number.
“An empty bottle was recovered from within and the DNA of Mr Mill was found on the mouthpiece and on the inside of the bottle can.
“A jerry can hose was recovered as well as a false front registration plate.
“It was forensically examined and Mr Mill’s fingerprints were found.
“When charged, Mr Mill said ‘I don’t know what you’re on about’.”
The second Range Rover was later traced in Cowdenbeath, again with a false registration plate.
20-year-old Mill’s prints were on the genuine front and rear plates, found inside the vehicle.
He replied to being cautioned and charged: “I never stole a Range Rover.”
Range Rover and Mini
Robertson stole a £25,000 Range Rover Sport from an address on Clattowoods Drive, which was discovered on the city’s Yarrow Terrace.
The 24-year-old’s DNA was discovered on the driver’s door handle and gear stick.
Robertson, remanded at HMP Perth, also reset a Mini Countryman which had been taken from an address in Tranent in October 2022 which was eventually found in Bridge of Earn, near Perth, in April 2023.
Sheriff George Way deferred sentence on the pair until January to obtain reports.
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