A woman stranded in Huntly at 5am stole a stranger’s bag and wallet after police refused to give her a lift home and said they were “not a f***ing taxi service”, a court has been told.
Denise Elrick and her brother found themselves stuck in the Aberdeenshire town in the freezing cold with no way of getting home to Keith in the early hours of the morning.
Elrick, 32, flagged down a police car in desperation and asked for a lift home.
But her solicitor told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that officers dismissed their pleas, telling them they were “not a f***ing taxi service”.
Elrick then flagged down a motorist, but snatched his bag and wallet through the window before running off.
Fiscal depute David Rogers said: “At 5am on October 25, a witness was driving through Huntly on his way to work.
‘Sourcing some income to make her way home’
“He noticed the accused and a male standing at the side of the road on Castle Street.”
Elrick flagged the car down and it pulled over and the driver wound down his passenger side window.
She asked for a lift but when the man said no she reached through the open window and grabbed a backpack and wallet from the passenger seat.
The furious motorist leapt out of his vehicle and gave chase, pursuing Elrick down an alleyway and shouting at her to stop.
Elrick dropped the bag and wallet and police officers, who had heard the commotion, were soon on scene.
The stolen items were fully recovered.
Elrick, of Mid Street, Keith, pled guilty to a charge of theft from a vehicle.
Defence agent Alex Burn said: “Her and her brother became stranded there and couldn’t get home. It was freezing cold.
“She stopped a police vehicle and asked if they could take her home.”
‘Young woman with significant issues’
Officers said there was not enough room for both her and her brother.
Mr Burn said that when Elrick persisted, officers retorted: “This is not a f***ing taxi service.”
The solicitor added: “She left and, further on, she came across this individual and accepts what’s narrated.
“She leaned in and took the items with a view to sourcing some income to make her way home and she is regretful of that.”
Mr Burn said Elrick is a “young woman with significant issues” who left Aberdeen in a bid to escape issues involving drugs.
Sheriff Lesley Johnston placed Elrick on a structured deferred sentence for 12 weeks for her to of good behaviour and engage with an existing order.
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