Police in Inverness have thanked witnesses for their bravery after a member of an armed gang was jailed for nine years.
Ronnie Dyce and his wife Jennifer – who were looking after two children at the time – were terrorised in their Hilton home by John Adams.
Adams, 28 and from Aberdeen, appeared at Glasgow High Court this week.
He admitted carrying out a robbery at a house on Oldtown Road in Inverness on March 18.
He was sentenced to nine years in jail.
Police Scotland acknowledged the conviction and sentencing yesterday.
Detective Inspector Steven Mackenzie said: “This was a frightening ordeal for Adams’s victims who were targeted within their own home, where they should feel at their most safe.
“It was also an understandably distressing incident for the community in the Hilton area and I would like to thank the witnesses for their bravery and the wider public for their help and support during our investigation.
“Crimes like this will not be tolerated in Inverness or anywhere else and Police Scotland is completely committed to tackling violent crime in all its forms.
“We will always work to ensure that offenders face the consequences of their actions, as John Adams will now do.”
At the time, judge Lady Rae said: “This must have been absolutely terrifying for the couple. It is clear you were watching the house.
“You went in with weapons and threatened this couple and the two children.
“You were masked and intent on robbing them.”