A thief who struck at three Aboyne homes in one night was caught by police as he fled the area in a stolen car while wearing a balaclava.
Jay Main, 21, targeted three properties – all in one night – after travelling from Aberdeen to rural Aberdeenshire.
He stole the keys to a getaway car along with a collection of random belongings from his victims, including a bank card, sunglasses, a pair of gloves and cleaning supplies.
But his overnight crime spree came to an end on April 1 2021 when officers stopped a stolen Volkswagen Passat.
Two men, including Main, were discovered inside and both of them were wearing balaclavas, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
‘She opened the window and disturbed them’
Fiscal depute Rebecca Thompson said the 21-year-old, while acting alongside another person, helped himself to the car keys of a black VW Passat on St Eunan’s Road, Aboyne.
He’d earlier gone into its owner’s unlocked home and taken the keys as well as an Alexa smart speaker, a bank card, a set of pliers and a pair of gloves.
Shortly after, the pair then let themselves into a woman’s unlocked white Audi Q5, which was parked outside a house on Darroch Wood, also in Aboyne.
But this time they were caught in the act by the resident.
“At around 10pm, during the course of the incident, she was disturbed by her dog growling,” Miss Thompson explained.
“She heard male voices and looked outside and saw the interior light go on in her car and saw two males in balaclavas within.
“She opened the window and disturbed them, at which point they ran to a red Mercedes.”
The pair had stolen an electric key fob and £9 in loose change.
Caught in stolen car wearing balaclava
Police, who were on the lookout for the pair, came across a red Mercedes being driven with a black VW Passat following behind.
Main and his former co-accused were inside the Passat, still wearing balaclavas, and Main was then arrested as the other man ran off into the forest, the court heard.
The Passat’s owner was unaware of being a victim of crime until 3.50am, when they awoke to find their patio door wide open and their car missing.
Another Aboyne resident, in nearby North Deeside Road, also didn’t realise that she had been targeted until hearing about the spate of thefts that night.
She then realised that her sunglasses, locking nut and car cleaning kit had all been taken from her black Nissan Qashqai on the same evening.
Main appeared from custody at HMP Grampian in Peterhead and admitted four charges of theft and two of drug dealing on a separate date.
Police raid uncovered drugs and cash
Last year, around 20 months after Main’s crimes in Aboyne, he was caught with Class A drugs worth £3,280 and a £4,884 bundle of cash.
Police confiscated the haul when they searched his Aberdeen home on December 1 last year.
Officers entered Main’s living room at the property on North Anderson Drive, at 2.45am in relation to another matter.
They discovered cocaine worth £3,000, £280 worth of heroin, a huge amount of cash, three mobile phones, weighing scales and a tick list.
Sheriff Ian Wallace was told that Main already has four previous convictions for vehicle theft and had previously served a period of juvenile detention.
But Main has not yet been sent to prison as an adult.
His sentencing was deferred for one month to allow time for background reports to be carried out.
Defence agent Gayle Wiggins did not request for her client to be bailed in the meantime.
Main, normally of North Anderson Drive in Aberdeen, was remanded in custody.
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