A brazen thief has avoided jail after stealing a ring worth thousands of pounds from a north-east jeweller.
Robert Tomlinson was also convicted of attempting to pervert the court of justice and using counterfeit notes worth more than £400.
In addition, he stole perfume and aftershave from a shopping centre.
The 43-year-old pleaded guilty to the offences, which spanned a five-month period from April to just three days ago, at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.
Fiscal depute Lidia Sim told the court that Tomlinson, who lives in a property in the city’s Rona Place, had gone into Ernest Jones jewellers in the St Nicholas Centre on April 24.
Tomlinson had asked to see a ring that was behind a glass cabinet.
He asked for a closer look at the item, worth £2,750, but then ran out of the shop.
He was later caught on CCTV and traced by police. But the ring was never recovered.
The court then heard that on May 17, police officers spotted someone driving Tomlinson’s car on the A944 Aberdeen to Westhill road, who was disqualified.
Tomlinson later told officers he was driving the vehicle, but they had already identified the person who was actually behind the wheel.
The following month, on June 5, Tomlinson tried to pay for drinks with a fake £20 note in Prohibition nightclub.
He was subsequently ejected from the club and tried to throw the rest of the notes away when questioned by police.
He had 21 of the same denomination in total.
The last offence was committed on Tuesday in Boots in the Bon Accord Centre when he stole a bottle of perfume and a bottle of aftershave worth about £125.
The latter two incidents took place while Tomlinson was on bail.
Sheriff Christine McCrossan sentenced Tomlinson to 150 hours of unpaid work, to be completed in six months, and a supervision order lasting 18 months.
The sentence was imposed as a direct alternative to custody.
