A Hilltown drug addict has admitted robbing a Dundee beautician shop in a drunken late-night raid.
Michael Harding appeared from custody to admit the break-in, along with trying to illegally enter a Land Rover parked outside a city hotel and breaching a string of bail orders.
The court was given a dire prognosis for the 39-year-old habitual offender.
His own solicitor told Dundee Sheriff Court: “He has told me, if he continues with this lifestyle, he won’t be around much longer.”
Barefoot Overgate raid
Harding broke into the Elegance Brow beauticians in Dundee’s Overgate on January 11 this year.
Staff locked the unit at around 6.30pm and returned the next morning to find the premises secured but in a mess.
CCTV footage showed Harding, of Tulloch Court, enter via the staff service door and help himself to a tip jar with around £100 inside.
Intoxicated Harding also stole a mobile phone and a handbag from within the unit.
At around 8.10pm that night, security guards at the shopping centre had become concerned about Harding’s wellbeing as he was seen walking through the centre barefoot.
They called police, who took him home.
Attempt to steal
On February 28, Harding was seen by security staff in the nearby old Debenhams car park and made his way towards the underground Hampton by Hilton Hotel car park.
There, he tried to open the 4×4’s door with the intention of stealing it or something from inside.
Police found him crouching beside nearby bins.
He admitted both offences and breaching bail curfews imposed by Dundee Sheriff Court on both occasions.
He has told me, if he continues with this lifestyle, he won’t be around much longer.”
— Harding’s solicitor Billy Watt
His solicitor Billy Watt said: “There’s quite a history of this type of offending going back some years.
“This is all in regard to drug addiction issues.
“He was intoxicated at the time.
“He’s 39 years old. He tells me this lifestyle is not sustainable for much longer.
“He has had periods where he’s desisted.
“These patterns of offending relate to relapses.
“He has told me, if he continues with this lifestyle, he won’t be around much longer.”
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael deferred sentencing for reports.
Harding is due back in court on May 9.
