A notorious Paisley thief was rumbled trying to break into a BMW motor only FOUR days after he got out of the jail.
Andrew Mack, 34, was clocked repeatedly trying the doors of the sports car parked up in the town centre on May 26 this year.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard Mack then went back to the same area the following day where an eagle-eyed witness spotted him skulking around again and phoned the police.
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Procurator Fiscal Depute Calumn Forsyth told the court: “The car park is in Paisley town centre.
“A member of the public looked out of his window and saw the accused.
“The accused approached the motor vehicle and went down to the driver’s door where he repeatedly tried the handle of the door.
“He then walked to the other side of the vehicle, a BMW, and attempted to open the passenger’s door on the other side.”
The court heard the witness noted what Mack was trying to do, but did not phone the police until the following day when he spotted the thief back at the same place.
The prosecutor added: “The witness saw the accused in the same local area on May 27 and that point he contacted police.”
Cops took down a description and traced Mack later that afternoon in the town.
They also checked public space CCTV which backed up the witness’s description of what Mack was up to.
Yesterday he appeared from custody before Sheriff Lindsey Kooner where he pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to break into a locked vehicle with intent to steal.
Defence agent Anthony Borland told how Mack, blighted by a horror heroin habit, had only been back on the streets for four days when he was lifted again.
He said: “He has a lengthy record of previous convictions and had only been released from custody on May 22 this year before the commission of this offence.
“It is a fairly vicious cycle of re-offending.
“He is released and falls very quickly back into drug abuse.
“His previous convictions reveal it is exactly the same story.”
The lawyer urged the court to show Mack mercy by sparing him jail to help him tackle his drug addiction.
Mr Borland added: “He was released from jail without any help.
“No house, no benefits and he fell into his old ways.”
Sheriff Kooner said she was prepared to grant Mack one last chance to mend his ways and ruled he must attend a meeting with social workers to be assessed for a drug treatment and testing order.
Mack, now staying with a relative in the town’s George Street, was ordered back to court on October 2, where he will discover his fate.
