Two people who broke into a hotel and made off with a haul of alcohol and cash have been spared jail.
Philip Arnold and Stephanie Norman were captured on CCTV targeting the Crown Court Hotel in Inverness in October of 2020.
Cash was taken from the till and alcohol bottles were lined up on the bar before the pair made a number of trips to remove them from the building.
Arnold and Norman, both 43, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing having previously admitted the break-in and thefts.
Arnold also pled guilty to charges of resisting, obstructing or hindering officers and assault relating to incidents following the break in.
At a previous hearing fiscal depute Pauline Gair said the hotel’s manager had secured the premises at around 8pm on October 5 as there were no guests.
But in the early hours of October 6, Arnold and Norman entered the property.
Arnold went behind a reception desk and made several visits to a CCTV room before the pair left via a fire exit, returning a short time later.
Thieves made multiple trips to escape with their haul
“Both accused entered the bar area via the fire exit door of the bar and were seen going behind the bar and removing numerous bottles of malt whisky, vodka and gins and rums,” Mrs Gair said.
“Thereafter bottles of prosecco are removed from the fridge and put on the bar. Money was removed from the till by Norman by way of a true key and put in a bag.
“Both accused then started to carry the alcohol out of the hotel before returning on two occasions to remove further bottles of alcohol.”
The break-in was discovered by the manager who arrived for work at 8am and noticed damage to the fire exit.
Police were called and CCTV footage identified Arnold and Norman.
Arnold resisted arrest by tensing his arms and pushing against officers to the point that he had to be taken to the ground.
He also targeted staff who had to check on him regularly in custody due to his level of intoxication by attempting to bite one on the hand and kicking out at another, catching him on the thigh.
Community-based punishment
Solicitor David Paterson, for Norman, said that his client’s offending had a common thread of drug addiction.
He said: “She recalls very little but accepts the crown case in its entirety,” adding that his client, who has a “complex background” had since begun to address her substance misuse.
Sheriff Gary Aitken told her: “This is a serious offence.
“I am just prepared to deal with it by means of a community-based alternative.”
He placed Norman, of Quayside Court, on a community payback order with 18 months of supervision and also made her subject to a restriction of liberty order requiring her to remain within her home between the hours of 7pm and 7am seven days a week.
Defence solicitor Shahid Latif for Arnold, of Mackintosh Road, Inverness, said his client was someone who was “easily led”.
Sheriff Aitken told Arnold: “Given your record and long jail sentence is clearly a possibility and this is a serious offence, however, there is some hope in the report, some positive aspects.”
As a direct alternative to custody he placed Arnold on a community payback order with 18 months supervision and 150 hours of unpaid work in the community.
