Tesco Inshes bike thief is jailed after failing to complete unpaid work
A bicycle worth thousands of pounds stolen from an Inverness supermarket was never recovered because the thief claimed he couldn't remember what he did with it.
John Muir, of Oldtown Road, Inverness had previously admitted at Inverness Sheriff Court stealing the bicycle from Tesco Inshes on September 13, 2023 and was ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work as an alternative to prison.
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Muir also admitted previous convictions.
But Muir was back before Sheriff Sara Matheson again, this time by video link as the 44-year-old failed to complete the order and it was breached.
Muir admitted the breach and defence solicitor Marc Dickson told the court that his client was on remand for another matter and an alternative should be imposed.
Sheriff Matheson jailed Muir for six months instead.
At last year's hearing fiscal depute David Morton told Sheriff Matheson: "The theft was filmed on CCTV."
The sheriff asked Mr Dickson at that hearing: "What happened to the bike? It was worth thousands of pounds."
Mr Dickson replied: "He has little recollection of the theft."
Sheriff Matheson then told Muir: "Bicycle theft is beginning to become an issue in this area. A lot of people have expensive bicycles and I have to keep people safe and treat these offences seriously."
