Thief broke into Fife house and stole mobile phones and laptop

David Robertson, of Gladstone Street, Leven appeared before Sheriff Eric Brown at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.

Robertson, 41, admitted on June 12 or 13, 2019 he broke into a house in Balfour Street in Leven and stole a quantity of mobile phones, a laptop and a power bank.

The Procurator Fiscal Depute told the court: “At around 11:00pm the house owner went to bed and the house was secure with various items within including two mobile phones, a laptop and a powerbank.

"At 1.30am, police on mobile patrol observed a man on a bike near the scene. He had a blue rucksack and was wearing a blue jacket. The officers went to try to speak to him but he cycled off.

"They carried off a search of the area and found a rucksack which included two mobile phones, a laptop and a powerbank."

The home owner discovered the break-in the following morning.

He continued: “ At 7.45am the same day the complainer woke up and realised there had been a disturbance.

“A bottle was lying on the kitchen floor and a cupboard was open. The top part of his bathroom window was also missing. He noticed the two mobile phones, the laptop and a powerbank were missing. He contacted police.”

The Procurator Fiscal Depute said the complainer was shown the rucksack and recognised the items were the ones missing from his house. The accused’s DNA was found linking him to the offence and he was cautioned and charged.

Robertson’s defence lawyer told the court his client had accepted responsibilty at the outset. He said Robertson does not have much recollection of what happened but that he had issues with drug addiction, namely heroin.

He said his client was in a position to pay a financial penalty.

Sheriff Brown told the accused: “I am going to defer sentence to give you the chance to address your drug problem.”

He deferred sentence until December 21 and called for the preparation of a supplementary criminal justice social work report.

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