A serial thief repaid the kindness of a man who helped him off the streets by breaking into his shop in the dead of night and stealing hundreds of pounds worth of stock.
John McCormick was caught on CCTV as he rummaged through neighbouring stores in Peterhead town centre during an after dark raid with pal Richard Slaney.
Footage shows 23-year-old McCormick, whose face is hidden by his hood, forcibly hauling away a pair of charity collection tins which were chained to the counter.
At one stage in the break-in, Slaney, 26, pauses to look directly into the shop’s infrared camera and pulls a face.
Just months earlier, McCormick had approached the shop’s owner Tony Miller, when he was chairman of a specialist housing service for Aberdeenshire. Mr Miller helped the troubled young man get off the streets and into homeless accommodation.
“After all that I did for him and this is how he repays me,” said Mr Miller last night. “I thought I was putting him onto the right path, but obviously not.”
McCormick and Slaney were both due to appear at Peterhead Sheriff Court for sentencing, having earlier admitted breaking into the Peterhead Bait and Tackle store and an adjoining wool shop, the Knit Hoose. The stores on Broad Street are run by Mr Miller and his wife Linda.
McCormick and Slaney, both described as prisoners in Perth, stole nearly £700 worth of clothing, sports equipment and BB guns during the midnight raid on January 12. Only some of the items were recovered.
Slaney did not appear in court to be sentenced and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
McCormick, who is originally from Liverpool, appeared from custody, but was not jailed for the offence. Instead, Sheriff Andrew Miller said that he should be given more time to complete a drug treatment and testing order imposed at an earlier hearing. A review will be held in court next month.
However, McCormick was locked up for two months after admitting a separate charge of shoplifting £52 worth of aftershave from another shop.
Police traced McCormick after a tip off that someone with a Liverpudlian accent was trying to sell BB guns while standing outside the Clara House hostel in Peterhead town centre.
Officers then went to Slaney’s room at the hostel and found some of the stolen stock under his bed.
The charity tins, which were destined for the Archie Foundation and Macmillan Cancer Support, were never found. They were thought to have contained about £200 each.
