A thief posed as a gardener before breaking into an Aberdeen flat and stealing thousands of pounds worth of belongings.
Hugh Croll was lurking on the ground floor landing of the block on King Street when two women passed him on their way out.
The pair turned down the offer of gardening work and thought nothing more of it, until they returned home that evening and discovered Croll had broken into a neighbour’s flat.
Croll, 48, had climbed in through a window and helped himself to possessions including cash, a PlayStation 5, designer clothes and trainers.
CCTV helps convict thief
Fiscal depute Jane Spark told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the women left their address around noon of June 4 2022.
She said: “They were asked by the accused if they wanted any gardening work done at the back of the property.
“They declined and then left the building thinking nothing more of it.”
At 6pm, two other women from the same block returned home and noticed a cash tin was missing from the bedroom, as was a PlayStation 5.
Ms Spark told the court: “The window above the bed in the bedroom was slightly open and the blinds in front of the window were damaged.”
The women called the police and checked to see if anything else had been taken.
Among the items taken, Croll stole:
- Designer clothes
- Perfume
- A Firestick
- A massage gun
- A water bottle
- A pair of trainers
They also noticed mud on the floor between the bed and cupboard, and that a shoe box on the windowsill had been crushed as if it had been stood on.
A neighbour later showed them CCTV which showed Croll and another person entering the building from King Street around 1.15pm.
Police attended and investigations led them to execute a search warrant at another address in Aberdeen, with Croll found inside.
Ms Spark said: “Police officers recognised him from the CCTV provided by the complainers.
“A number of stolen items were recovered at the address, in particular, a pink and yellow JD drawstring bag, which had the accused’s fingerprints on it.”
He was cautioned and arrested.
‘Domestic housebreaking is a particularly unpleasant offence’
The estimated value of the stolen items was between £4,000 and £5,000, with £1,200 worth being recovered.
Croll, of Jute Street, Aberdeen, pled guilty to theft by housebreaking.
Defence agent Paul Barnett highlighted that the value of the goods stolen included the cost of a laptop, which had been deleted from the charge before Croll pled guilty.
He said: “I accept, as Mr Croll does, domestic housebreaking is a particularly unpleasant offence.
“He’s been of good behaviour since the commission of the offence.”
Mr Barnett acknowledged Croll had previous convictions for similar offences, but that most of them dated back to the 1990s.
He added Croll, who is a father, had relapsed into heroin use at the time of the break-in following a bereavement.
Sheriff Ian Wallace ordered Croll to be supervised for 12 months and complete 250 hours of unpaid work.
He also imposed a six-month curfew.
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