A man who was caught on camera brazenly stealing a till from a north-east sweet shop has admitted his crimes.
John Paul McCormack targeted Bon Bon on Peterhead’s Queen Street as well as hair salon Room Seven on Rose Street in June this year.
The 29-year-old stole hair styling tools, a till and cash during the two raids.
McCormack, whose address was given in court papers at HMP Grampian, was caught after Fiona Chalmers, the owner of Bon Bon, posted CCTV of the crime on Facebook.
He pled guilty to breaking in and stealing a quantity of electrical items from the hairdressers and a till and quantity of cash from the sweet shop.
Fiona said: “I am happy he pled guilty but he couldn’t really have done anything else.
“He was recognised after I put the CCTV footage on Facebook and I got a definite identification.
“His fingerprints were all over the place so he couldn’t really do anything but plead guilty.
“It’s disappointing more than anything, having to deal with the mess and the expense of tidying up after the break-in.
Fiscal depute Colin Neilson told the court at around 6pm the salon owner locked the door and left for the night.
He said at around 11pm a member of the public went to Peterhead police station to report that someone had broken into the salon.
Mr Neilson said two hair dryers, curling tongs and straighteners worth around £220 had been taken from the main reception desk.
In the second incident, which happened just a day later, a sweet shop was targeted with the owner being contacted by another shopkeeper about a broken window.
Mr Neilson said coins were strewn all over the floor and the till had also been taken.
He said the till was traced in a nearby lane but there was £100 missing from it.
Defence agent David Sutherland said the thefts were as a result of an attack McCormack was subjected to.
He said: “Mr McCormack was quite seriously assaulted before the break-ins.”
Sheriff William Summers deferred sentence until next month for a criminal justice social work report.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.
