A thief battered his neighbour’s door with a claw hammer because he feared he was being spied on, before making off with a haul of goods.
Drugged-up Taimoor Khan, 22, was found with a laptop, mobile phones and a PlayStation 4 in his flat on Fleuchar Street in Polepark which he stole from Janis Graudumnieks, his downstairs neighbour.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard that Khan was paranoid that his neighbours were spying on him and claimed he had suffered racial abuse.
The pair were friendly with each other and had no previous hostility.
Mr Graudumnieks could hear Khan shouting in his flat above before running downstairs and banging on the door with an implement, later revealed to be a hammer.
Fiscal depute Nicola Gillespie said this made Mr Graudumnieks “very frightened” before Khan eventually left.
She said: “He was so frightened for his safety he left the property and contacted the police. He waited outside for them to arrive. Officers spoke to him. They approached the front door which was lying open.
“Mr Graudumnieks noticed a laptop, four mobile phones and a PlayStation were missing. Officers went to the accused’s address. He let them in and appeared under the influence of drugs.
“He voluntarily said to the officers: ‘It was me. I used a hammer to smash the door in after two years of racial abuse from him.’ ”
Khan, now living at Carngael, Almondbank, Perth, admitted going to the door of Mr Graudumnieks’ flat on June 2 and repeatedly striking the door of the flat with a hammer, causing extensive damage and causing Mr Graudumnieks fear and alarm. He also pleaded guilty to stealing the devices and possessing 2.6g of amphetamine.
Sheriff Alastair Brown deferred sentence on Khan until March 26 for social work reports and a psychiatric report.
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