A teenage serial car thief from Dundee, who has been attacked 11 times while on remand in prison, has been warned he could be returned behind bars for years if he fails to take a chance of freedom.
Reece Massie stole and broke into cars worth hundreds of thousands of pounds during a five-month theft spree across Tayside after being repeatedly freed on bail.
Massie was freed again last week after Dundee Sheriff Court was told he had spent the equivalent of a 20-month sentence on remand and had been assaulted repeatedly by other inmates.
Sheriff George Way placed him on a high-tariff structured deferred sentence after he admitted a string of offences and ordered him to return to the court on February 25 next year.
He said: “I take account of the fact he is only 19.
“I will follow the recommendation of the (social work) report and give him one last chance to set himself straight.
“The length of time on remand would indicate a sentence pushing on for 20 months.
“I will defer sentence for three months for him to be of good behaviour.
“What he has to hear is that this is an absolute warning, given only because he is still a young man – if you fall back into offending, you will be back here.
“Looking at the totality of this clearly disgraceful and continuous course of behaviour, you will be facing a prison sentence running to several years.”
Long list of crimes
Massie admitted:
- September 16 2023 – Stole a Jaguar XER Sport from Longforgan;
- January 21 2024 – Broke into a BMW in Norwood Terrace, Dundee, and stole the keys for a Vauxhall Astra, along with jewellery and other items;
- January 25 – Caught in a vehicle in Blairgowrie in circumstances which showed he planned to commit theft;
- January 25 – Tried to steal a Ford Ranger and a Mercedes from an address in William Dickson Drive, Blairgowrie;
- January 25 – Stole a Range Rover Evoque from another home in William Dickson Drive, Blairgowrie;
- January 25 – Broke into a Ford Transit in Blairgowrie street and stole tools and cash;
- January 29 – Caught in a home and a car in Grange, Errol, with the intention of committing theft;
- February 2 or 3 – Entered an insecure VW Taigo R-Line in Red Squirrel Way, Dundee and stole a bag.
Fiscal depute Sam Craib told the court Massie’s DNA was found on the steering wheel and gearstick of vehicles he had broken into during the spree.
Prison assaults
Solicitor Mike Short, defending, said: “He has been remanded for nine months.
“He has been assaulted in custody eight times. He was taken into protection and assaulted three times.
“A certain prisoner has put his name forward for abuse.
“He accepts that’s part of it. It’s not the fault of the staff.
“He was very easily led. He’s asked to do things and doesn’t have the strength to say no.
“His peer group are not his friends, they use and abuse him.”
- A previous version of this report mistakenly carried a picture of a different person called Reece Massie. We appreciate that person has nothing to do with this case and apologise for the error.
