A depressed drug addict wept as he admitted to police officers that he had robbed an elderly woman in a Kirriemuir street before burning her belongings after his own mother identified him as the man responsible.
George Meehan (28), a patient at Sunnyside Royal Hospital near Montrose, approached his 76-year-old victim from behind and grabbed her handbag as she emerged from the town’s Co-op store at around 5pm on January 19 this year.
Forfar Sheriff Court heard on Thursday that the woman was left screaming in the street as he ran off with her purse which contained just £4 in cash but also precious photographs of her grandchildren.
Depute fiscal Hannah Kennedy confirmed that the pensioner was so traumatised by the incident that she is now terrified to leave her home and constantly fears that she is being followed.
She said officers had trawled CCTV footage in the wake of the incident and had eventually found pictures of Meehan just moments before it happened.
She added that a witness who had come to the aid of the “extremely distressed” victim had said that the images were those of the accused.
However, Meehan continually claimed to police he was not responsible for the robbery even when his mother confirmed that he was the individual pictured.
Ms Kennedy said, “The accused initially denied that he was the person responsible. Even when his own mother identified him, he still denied it.
“However, when he was interviewed a second time he did admit the offence. He was crying and saying he was depressed and low at the point and had no job and no prospects.
“The complainer is still suffering from the effects of the incident. She is frightened to go out and thinks people are following her when she does go out.”
Meehan, who pled guilty to the offence under indictment, then took police to the field where he had burned the “distinctive” multi-coloured bag.
Ms Kennedy said that, before destroying the item, the accused had smoked the remainder of his victim’s cigarettes the ends of which were discovered by officers during an examination of the property in which Meehan was staying at the time.
Sheriff Kevin Veal deferred sentencing until June 16 to allow for the preparation of reports.