A notorious gang of teenage car thieves who have plagued the north-east for years have run-up more than £125,000 in legal aid bills.
(Read full article about legal costs here)
This is a timeline of their crimes:
January 2013 – Jed Duncan, described as one of the north-east’s most prolific joy riders, steals a Land Rover after taking keys from a home in the Sheddocksley area of Aberdeen during a New Year house party.
April 2013 -One 18-year-old -who at the time was just 15 – is spared a custodial sentence after crashing a Jaguar stolen from Garthdee Drive in Aberdeen.
In court, his solicitor, Mike Monro, said: “I doubt he can drive dodgems at the carnival, let alone a Jaguar.”
July 2013 – Liam Smith, Blair Thomson and another 19-year-old make off with a Porsche, a Toyota Land Cruiser, an Audi, and an Aston Martin from oil tycoon Sean Dreelan’s mansion at Banchory Devenick in Aberdeenshire.
May 2014 – Michael Beaton and Aden Robertson are jailed for 11 months after leading police on a high-speed chase through Montrose and on to the A92 Montrose-Stonehaven road in a stolen car.
Beaton, who was on bail at the time, admitted breaking into two properties in Montrose and stealing numerous items.
Robertson admitted stealing a car from Glenprosen Street before driving it dangerously and at speeds of up to 100mph through streets in the town and on the A92.
July 2014 – Liam Smith admits driving dangerously around Aberdeen in a stolen Mercedes CLS250, valued at £50,000.
Jed Duncan is also sentenced to one year’s detention after a police stakeout led to him being caught getting into a stolen van with drugs worth hundreds of pounds.
December 2014 – Police officers pursue Ricky Forrester who is driving a stolen BMW X5 through Aberdeenshire, before the vehicle is abandoned on Inverurie’s train station platform. Forrester is later given an 18-month sentence.
His co-accused, Jordan Chesser, was also sentenced to 18 months for driving a stolen blue Audi Q5 2.0 TDi quattro into a police car during the drama.
March 2015 – Connor Smart and Jason Grant were locked up for 30 months after being convicted of stealing a Lamborghini and BMW X5 from a mansion at Aberdeen’s Oakhill Grange.
May 2015 – Serial car criminal Craig Strachan is handed what Sheriff William Taylor described as a “lenient” community-based sentence for stealing a £26,000 Mercedes-Benz.
October 2015 – Michael Beaton was locked up for 22 months for stealing cars worth more than £50,000 during a two-day crime spree. He had only been released from his last sentence six weeks earlier. Sentencing the repeat offender Sheriff Graham Buchanan said he was a “hardened criminal” who had not learned any lessons from his time behind bars.
The 19-year-old targeted two north-east homes, making off with a Porsche Cayenne, a Skoda Octavia and an Alfa Romeo Mito Sprint.
December 2015 – Chesser, who labels himself as “the thief of the north-east” on social media, admits stealing a Lexus RX300 just weeks after he is released from last sentence. He will be sentenced this month.