A Kirkcaldy shoplifter stole more between £4000 and £5000 worth of goods in 20 separate thefts, a court has heard.
Alistair Brown stole hundreds of pounds worth of groceries from Tesco and Asda and clothes from Sports Direct, JD Sports and Next during a crime spree spanning six months.
His highest value hauls came from Boots – in one case he stole cosmetics items worth £1,000.
Brown also stole fuel on several occasions, helped himself to booze from Aldi and made off with over £235 of toys from B&M.
The court heard the 38-year-old, of Cumbrae Terrace, has long suffered from a cocaine addiction.
He appeared in the dock from custody to admit the string of offences, which took place in Fife and beyond between April 24 and October 18 this year.
Most of the offences happened in September and October.
During his shoplifting escapades, Brown stole up to £2500 of cosmetics from Boots in Dunfermline’s Kingsgate over three different occasions in a four-day period in October.
List of thefts
The total list of 20 thefts to which Brown pled guilty:
- Boots, Kingsgate, Dunfermline – £500 to £700 of cosmetics;
- Boots, Kingsgate, Dunfermline – £700 to £800 of cosmetics;
- Boots, Kingsgate, Dunfermline – £1000 of cosmetic;
- Next, Fife Central Retail Park, Kirkcaldy – £200 worth of clothes;
- Sports Direct, High Street, Dunfermline – £300 to £400 worth of clothing;
- JD Sport, Kingsgate, Dunfermline – £300 of clothes;
- Tesco, Queensferry Road, Rosyth – £150 in groceries;
- Tesco, Queensferry Road, Rosyth – £70 in groceries and cosmetics;
- Tesco, Queensferry Road, Rosyth – £57.28 of fuel;
- Tesco, Winterthur Lane, Dunfermline – £61.50 in fuel;
- Asda, Newmarket Centre, Falkirk – £420 worth of groceries;
- Co-op, Bank Street, Lochgelly – £122.80 of cleaning items;
- Co-op, Bank Street, Lochgelly – £75 of cleaning items;
- Aldi, Duloch Park, Dunfermline – £65.25 of alcohol;
- Iceland, Esplanade, Kirkcaldy – £27 of soft drinks;
- B&M, Flemington Road, Glenrothes – £160 of toys;
- B&M, High Street, Cowdenbeath – £75.96 of toys;
- Shell filling station, Hendry Road, Kirkcaldy – £19.82 of fuel;
- New Tannery Garage, Grangemouth Road, Falkirk – £58.20 of fuel;
- Gleaner Gas Centre, Broad Street, Cowdenbeath – £58.49 of fuel;
The combined higher value of all his thefts was £4,821.30, with a lower value of £4,421.30.
Cocaine addiction
Defence lawyer Stephen Morrison said Brown has a cocaine addiction on and off for the past 13 years, worsening in the last three to four years.
The solicitor said his client expressed relief at being caught and said he wants help from addiction services.
Mr Morrison said Brown had previous interaction with a drug addiction centre and attended cocaine anonymous, though has failed to stay clear of the class A drug.
Sheriff Neil Bowie deferred sentence until December 6 to obtain background reports and he was remanded in custody.
Bail was sought but Sheriff Bowie refused it, citing a significant risk of reoffending given Brown’s extensive course of conduct which included some high value thefts.
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