A man who stole decking worth £15,000 from a Stirling building supplies depot escaped a jail term this week.
Donald Rice (38) and co-accused Joseph Janetts had been caught after a pedestrian walking past the Springkerse yard late at night became suspicious and called the police.
The duo pleaded guilty to stealing a quantity of composite decking from MKM Building Supplies on Kerse Road on Saturday July 31 this year.
Thirty-seven-year-old Janetts, who has a long record for crimes of dishonesty, was jailed for eight months when the case first called at Falkirk Sheriff Court on August 2.
When Rice appeared for sentence at Stirling Sheriff Court on Wednesday, fiscal depute Lindsey Brooks told the court that a witness had been walking past the Kerse Road yard at 11.15pm on July 31 and heard the sound of wood being moved there.
Due to the time of night this aroused suspicions, Ms Brooks added. The witness shone a torch into the yard but could not see anything.
He then contacted police via 999 and officers arrived at 11.40pm. The gates of the yard were closed but unlocked.
Two white vans were parked there, said Ms Brooks, alongside the accused and another man, and both their faces were masked and hands gloved.
They were in possession of a crowbar or bolt cutters. When Rice and Janetts, both of Greenock, were arrested by officers, Rice made no reply.
Decking, valued at £15,000, had been put in the back of the vans which had not been driven away.
Rice’s agent Virgil Crawford told Sheriff Pino Di Emedio there was “a significant distinction” between Rice’s criminal record and that of Janetts who had “a signifcant record for crimes of dishonesty”.
Rice, he added, became involved through the co-accused. He had been experiencing financial difficulty, had rent arrears, and saw this as an opportunity to clear the debt.
Mr Crawford added that Rice, had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, and “had time to reflect on the error of his ways”.
Pointing out that Rice only had one previous conviction, he asked Sherff Di Emedio not to impose a custodial sentence.
Sheriff Di Emedio told Rice the matter was one which the court took seriously.
However, since Rice’s record was “significantly less serious” than that of the co-accused, containing only one conviction for crimes of dishonesty, he was prepared to impose a community payback order as a alternative to custody.
The order comprised 160 hours’ unpaid work to be completed within a year.
