An Elgin woman has admitted stealing her neighbour’s television and selling it for £20.
Jenna Ralph also tried to offer the DVDs she took during the raid back to her victim the next day.
He had gone to Ralph’s home, at 46 Ernest Hamilton Court, to confront her after hearing a rumour she had been responsible for the break-in on August 22 last year.
Fiscal Ruaridh McAllister said: “He went round to her house and challenged her about what he had heard and at this stage she handed back the collection of DVDs he recognised as belonging to himself.”
The court heard Ralph told staff at Cash Generators in Elgin that the TV had previously belonged to her grandmother.
The 23-year-old initially told police a man had sold it but, but after officers quizzed staff they told them she had sold it to them for £20.
Defence solicitor Matthew O’Neill said his client “apologised unreservedly” for the theft.
He said: “At the time Miss Ralph was socialising with number of individuals who were perhaps having a negative influence upon her, some are well known to this building (the court). It is no excuse and her own memory of the event is relatively poor.”
Ralph was charged with acting with another person, but Mr McAllister confirmed nobody else had been traced.
Sheriff Chris Dickson said: “Domestic housebreaking is an extremely serious offence which causes upset to the homeowner.
In this case you didn’t know the homeowner.”
Ralph was sentenced to 270 hours of unpaid work and was placed under supervision for three years.
