Santa Stealer: Festive con robbed lawman's car
A serial thief was jailed after being caught stealing an Aberdeen sheriff's car wearing a Santa hat.
Barry Dyker, 33, took off with Kieran McLernan's motor minutes after it was parked outside the sheriff's Aberdeen home.
The bungling con also made off with the lawman's expensive golfing gear, sat nav and other items being stored in his Rover 75.
But a few hours later the culprit was spotted sitting in the car a just yards from his Torry home - wearing a Santa hat.
Today a part-time sheriff, who was called in to deal with the case, jailed the car thief for five months.
The court heard that Mr McLernan reported the car missing at around 8.30pm on December 27.
The sheriff's car - which has a personalised number plate - was spotted parked on a grass verge at 33 Balnagask Avenue shortly after 6am the following morning.
The court heard that the accused was seen rummaging in the back seat of the car wearing “a red and white coloured festive Santa hat”.
Police later recovered the £5,000 car but the belongings in the car – totalling around £3,000 were gone except for an air compressor.
Dyker was arrested but denied the theft until he appeared in court earlier this year. Sentence was deferred until today for background reports.
In jailing Dyker Sheriff Daniel Kelly said: "You have a number of previous convictions and number of these are for dishonesty.
"There appears to be a high risk of reoffending.
"In all these circumstances, I don't see any alternative to a custodial sentence."
