A bungling thief tried to raid a Fife shop while wearing a bin bag as a disguise.
Gary Murdoch set off a “smoke screen” security feature at the Semi-Chem shop in Leven.
Unable to see, he fled the scene but left behind a distinctive “LOL Surprise” bag.
At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Tuesday he admitted carrying out the bungled break-in last August.
Smoke screen
Fiscal depute Claire Bremner told the court Murdoch had already been spoken to by police earlier that evening.
She said: “At around 12.45am a call was received by Police Scotland to say a man had been injured of Leven High Street.
“Officers attended and found the accused with a head injury. He refused to go to hospital.
“At around 1.15am the accused was seen on CCTV. He had a black bin liner over his head and chest.
“He recovered an LOL Surprise carrier bag from a bin.
“He was seen to throw a brick at the window of Semi-Chem.”
She said Murdoch had then kicked at the window to gain access.
She continued: “At around 1.30am the alarm activated.
“The store had a security feature called a smoke screen, which activated and left the accused unable to see.”
The 46-year-old then fled the scene, disposing of his make-shift disguise in a bin.
Perfume thefts
“At 2.10am police attended. The smoke cleared and they could see a number of displays had been knocked over,” Ms Bremner continued.
“The LOL Surprise bag was inside, containing multiple bottles of perfume.”
She said an attempt had been made to access the tills.
Murdoch’s solicitor said he had a history of alcohol abuse and had been intoxicated at the time of the incident.
He said Murdoch was voluntarily engaged with organisations to tackle his issues, including DAPL.
He added: “It was an amateur attempt at a disguise.”
Gary Murdoch, of Lawrence Court, Buckhaven, admitted breaking and entering the store on Leven’s High Street on August 10 last year.
Sheriff Jamie Gilchrist jailed him for 32 months.
