Courts in Moray: New Year theft in Elgin foiled by CCTV
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A would-be thief was caught out after an Elgin homeowner's CCTV system sent them a phone alert on New Year's Day.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard that the homeowner received a message that someone had entered their garden on Ashfield Drive during the morning of January 1, 2021.
The footage showed Jason Taylor walking towards the property's back door, then turn around again after spotting the camera.
Shortly afterwards on the same street, another witness saw a figure walk past her home wearing a black top with the hood pulled up.
She walked over to a different upstairs window and saw Jordan Taylor below, near to the open door of her garage.
The witness shouted: "What the hell do you think you are doing?"
To which the teenage defendant replied: "Is this not number nine?"
Eight months later, at 9am on August 21, the police received a call from the 19-year-old's mother asking for help.
They arrived to find Taylor in an "agitated state" and behaving erratically.
Suspecting he was under the influence of some substance, they asked him to accompany them to their police van for a drugs search.
Taylor began to struggle and fell onto the ground with one of the officers.
He then punched him in the head, grazing his temple.
When the search was finally carried out, a bag containing about £100 of cannabis was found in one of his pockets.
Taylor also pleaded guilty to another offence which occurred on April 21. 2002, and involved a 15-year-old girl he had just met in Elgin's Doocot Park.
The teenage defendant took the girl back to his home.
Later that same evening he then pinched her on her upper thigh with enough force to leave a red mark.
Taylor, whose address was given in court papers as Sandy Row, Elgin, was ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work for the community.
He was also placed under the court's supervision for the next two years.
