A 33-year-old man broke into a house in Dundee after fleeing from Perth when police warned him his life was in danger.
But Thomas McMahon fell asleep in the property - only to be confronted by the 65-year-old home owner in the morning.
The alarmed pensioner shouted at him to “get the f*** out’’ but the intruder brazenly began to steal over £150 in cash, bank and credit cards, a mobile phone, a passport and other items.
Before leaving, McMahon told Christopher Marston that he had run up “a large debt” and not to report the theft until Monday.
But police later traced the accused, of Croft Avenue, Dunning - and he was jailed for almost 16 months at Perth Sheriff Court last week.
Described as a prisoner at Perth, he admitted forcing entry to a house in Dalrymple Street, Dundee, on July 26 this year and refusing to leave when requested.
His haul of stolen goods from the house also included two watches, a quantity of DVDs, two jumpers and a pair of shoes.
He also pled guilty to breaching a Perth court order, restricting him to his home from 7pm-7am, by being in Perth city centre at 7.25pm on August 17.
Further charges of being in possession of methadone and cannabis in the city’s York Place on August 17 this year were also admitted.
Depute fiscal Charmaine Gilmartin told the court that the garden of the Dundee property was overgrown and it could be mistaken for being “vacant.”
The pensioner lived alone and had gone to bed, locking the doors.
But when he went downstairs at 9am the next morning, he saw the accused standing in the bathroom doorway.
The OAP went to a neighbour’s and asked to telephone the police.
When arrested, McMahon denied any involvement in the break-in but some of the stolen property was found in his home and more was located at a pawnbroker’s.
Solicitor Paul Ralph explained that his client had been given an Osman warning by police that his life was in danger and that had “spooked” him.
He had gone to Dundee and spent time with acquaintances who “took drugs” before ending up in Mr Marston’s house.
“He thought it was empty and had fallen asleep but the occupier came down and found him there.”
Sheriff Pino di Emidio jailed McMahon for a total of 169 days, backdated to August 19, when he had been remanded.
