A thief who swung a bicycle chain at a shopworker’s head has avoided prison but was told by a sheriff he is on “staggeringly thin ice”.
Arin Proudfoot made the threatening gesture towards a female member of staff at Inverness’ Go Outdoors store after she tried to reclaim a jacket he’d just shoplifted.
The 31-year-old appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing having previously admitted three charges of theft by housebreaking, one of shoplifting and one of threatening or abusive behaviour.
The court was told he also broke into Farmfoods, a Spar Post Office and a Chinese takeaway in the Highland capital.
Fiscal depute Alison Young said it was around 9.55pm on June 1 of last year that an alarm was activated at the Farmfoods store in Telford Retail Park, Inverness.
Farmfoods window had been forced
Police were informed and officers arrived at the scene to find a window had been forced, leaving enough room for a person to enter.
Nobody was inside the store, but there were a number of stock items strewn around the car park.
Goods taken from the store were valued at £881.53, and the damage to the window was £274.45.
On August 7, an alarm was activated at the Spar Post Office in Charleston Court, Inverness.
Officers and police dogs attended and found a gate had been damaged however no one was inside, although again items were strewn about.
Mrs Young said: “The witness, the store manager, viewed CCTV. He saw a male climb over the external gate, gain entry using a screwdriver and head to the till area.”
The man then proceeded to take alcohol, cigarettes and bakery goods to a value of £2090.51.
While officers and police dogs were searching the area, they recovered items that led them to check the nearby Taste of China takeaway restaurant.
Here they discovered that a rear yard had been broken into and meat stolen from an outside freezer.
On September 24 Proudfoot was seen entering the Go Outdoors store in Glendoe Terrace.
Thief ‘lingered’ by high-value stock
As he was known to staff they watched his movements and noted that he was lingering near the high-value jackets.
“He was seen putting a Berghaus jacket up his own jacket,” Mrs Young told the court.
Proudfoot was challenged but exited the store and as he made off he dropped the jacket.
When a member of staff went to retrieve it he pulled out a bicycle chain and swung it at her head.
Proudfoot then picked up the jacket and left.
Defence agent Shahid Latif told the court his client had already spent four months on remand in relation to the offence.
He said: “It is clear that the vice that has gripped him for most of his adult life, and indeed his adolescent life, has been drugs in one shape or another.”
He said his client, who had been homeless and “sofa surfing” at the time of his crimes was “genuinely remorseful and ashamed of his behaviour”.
‘You need to sort your life out’
Sheriff Gary Aitken told Proudfoot: “The indictment that you face today is extremely serious. Breaking into commercial premises is wholly unacceptable – so is shoplifting, particularly where you decided to swing a bicycle chain at a lady’s head.
“You are on staggeringly thin ice
“You need to sort your life out and sort your life out now.
“Mr Latif tells me that the penny has dropped and that you do now want to sort your life out and you are serious about that – we’ll see. You will be given one final opportunity.
“It is entirely in your own hands.”
Sheriff Aitken placed Proudfoot on a drug treatment and testing order for two years and made him subject to a year-long restriction of liberty order, requiring him to be at his home address between 8pm and 5am.
He will be monitored by electronic tag.
