Footprint helps catch Nairn jewel thief
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A Nairn man who stole an estimated £15,000-£20,000 worth of jewellery wore a pair of trainers during a house-breaking in his home town which helped lead to his arrest.
The tread on the Nike shoe matched that found in the Lochloy Road property when the owners returned from a holiday on June 26, 2023, fiscal depute Robert Weir told Inverness Sheriff Court.
Alexander Morris, described as an Inverness prisoner, admitted the break-in which occurred between June 24 and June 26.
Mr Weir said that 38-year-old Morris sold some of the stolen items, with a value estimated by the owners to be £15,000-£20,000, to another man who in turn sold them to a shop in Inverness on June 27.
"When police traced the recipient, he told them he was a neighbour of Morris and bought the jewellery from him," Mr Weir said. "A tread pattern on a trainer shoe taken from Morris matched one left in the house."
Morris was arrested and told police he had been driven to the property by a person he owed a drug debt to, who had a key to the back door of the house.
Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald deferred sentence until January 15 for more information from social workers and from Mr Weir regarding the value of the recovered items and the loss to the householders.
