A woman who stole £100 of red roses intended as a wedding anniversary present for her neighbour was caught out after boasting about the bouquet on Facebook.
Judy McMahon posted the extravagant floral arrangement with the words: “Look what I got today”.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard that the 44-year-old then had a showdown with the neighbours when they confronted her.
‘Sorry we missed you’
Fiscal depute Mat Piskorz told the court: “On October 26, one of the witnesses placed an order with an online flower company.
“He ordered red roses with a value of £99. This was a present for their wedding anniversary.
“They were delivered on October 30, but they were not at home and the delivery driver placed them outside the door.
“Some time later one of the witnesses returned home but she was unaware of the delivery and did not realise the package was missing.
“A couple of hours after that her husband returned and realised the flowers were not in the home. He made enquiries with the flower company to try and find where they were.
“Meanwhile the accused posted on her Facebook a picture of the red roses, saying: ‘Look what I got today’.
“The neighbours made an attempt to speak to the accused but they were unable to contact her.”
Problems arose
Mr Piskorz said that the couple later confronted McMahon in the communal stairwell but she began shouting and swearing, telling them: “What are you going to do about it?”
Solicitor Megan Davidson told the court that McMahon mistakenly believed the flowers were meant for her.
She said McMahon had a long standing drug habit but was now on methadone, and at the time of the theft she had been drunk.
“At the time of this offence she tells me that she and her partner had fallen out,” she said.
“She returned home under the influence of alcohol, saw the flowers and had taken them inside, assuming they were for her.”
Guilty plea
She admitted that after the error came to light, McMahon had “done nothing to sort the situation”.
She added that when confronted by her neighbours, McMahon had “overreacted”.
McMahon, of Earn Road, Kirkcaldy, admitted stealing the flowers at an address in the street on October 30 last year.
She further admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner by shouting and swearing.
McMahon also admitted a charge of failing to appear at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on November 26.
Sheriff Richard McFarlane ordered her to pay £100 in compensation and admonished her.
