Two men stole high-powered cars from a Dundee dealership before taking off in a display of what a sheriff described as “amongst the most dangerous” driving he had ever heard of.
Kevin O’Donnell, 20, and Darren Ross, 31, were locked up for a total of almost nine years.
O’Donnell, an inmate at Polmont, and Ross, a prisoner at Perth, were found guilty by a unanimous verdict of breaking into South Road Motor Company and GL Autos in South Road, on November 22 or 23.
The trial heard that the cars were seen being driven away from the dealership in the early hours of November 23 and were spotted entering a car park in Perth a few hours later.
The court heard that shortly afterwards three men wearing masks entered TB Mitchell jewellers in John Street, Perth. The men fled and Ross was identified as one of the trio by staff members during the trial.
He was found guilty of entering the shop with his face masked and behaving in a threatening manner. The two stolen cars, which had a total value of £13,000, were recovered.
Sheriff Richard Davidson jailed O’Donnell for three years and 10 months and disqualified him from driving for 10 years. Ross was jailed for four years and 10 months and disqualified for life.
Sheriff Davidson told Ross: “You’ve been a menace to the court for as long as I’ve been sitting here. The way you drove shows you’ve no regard for the norms of society or for the safety of others.”
He told O’Donnell: “You forced vehicles off the road, lost control of the vehicle and collided with the kerb at such speed the airbags deployed. It’s nothing short of a miracle nobody was injured.”