A former heroin and crack cocaine addict who stole a £52,000 tractor “to order” in Angus has been jailed for 15 months.
Craig Maxwell took the John Deere machine from a dealership near Forfar but it was hours later and more than 50 miles away that police saw him behind the wheel of the stolen machine on a quiet Perthshire road in the early morning.
Maxwell (35), of Calder Crescent, Armadale, West Lothian, appeared before Sheriff Kevin Veal at Forfar for sentence, having earlier admitted an indictment alleging that between January 28 and 29, at Netherton Tractors, Finavon, he opened a compound by cutting away a section of fence and stole the 59-plate tractor.SuspiciousDepute fiscal Hannah Kennedy said the thief was stopped on the Crieff-Muthill road when the sight of the tractor with a flashing beacon made a police patrol suspicious.
“He (Maxwell) said he had been given £50 to pick up this vehicle,” Ms Kennedy added.
“He essentially broke into the yard by cutting the fence and drove the tractor through a field and on to the road.”
Maxwell’s agent said his client was on a methadone programme having previously had a drugs problem for a number of years.
He was struggling financially when he met a friend from his past and was offered the money to take the tractor.
“Mr Maxwell was not aware of the value of the tractor. He was aware it was being taken to order.Regret”He has expressed regret for his actions and he feels he has let himself down.
“He was a small player in what seems like a bigger scheme but he was the only person charged with this offence.
“He has now addressed his drug problems and has completed an 18-month drug testing order.”
The agent added, “I know there is a high value to the theft but I would ask your lordship to impose an alternative to custody.”
Sheriff Veal said, “The difficulty for Mr Maxwell is that he has a formidable record.
“Anytime he appears in court, and notwithstanding the clearly good progress he has made, custody must be considered a likely option.
“In this case, whilst he wasn’t the main driving force, he was used as the vehicle to get this very expensive tractor out of Netherton Tractors at Forfar and took it some considerable distance away.
“Thanks to the vigilance of police, who wondered why this vehicle was on the road in the early hours of the morning, it was recovered.”