A deaf security guard was able to lip-read a thief mocking his disability as he did not have his Covid face mask on.
Alan Hedges took £209 of vodka and whisky from a Co-Op in Glasgow’s Pollokshaws on January 19 and 20 this year.
The 44-year-old took off security tags before putting the drinks in a shopping bag.
Hedges denied stealing and yelled obscenities at security guard Nadeem Ashraf and said: “You do not know what is in my pocket.
“You have always had a problem with me. It was not me, I have done f*** all wrong. I am coming back just for you.”
Hedges also brandished a bottle of Prosecco and made a motion of pulling out a knife.
Prosecutor Aimee Doran told Glasgow Sheriff Court: “The guard could lip-read as Hedges was not wearing his mask.”
He was later arrested, but claimed to have done nothing wrong.
Hedges, of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, pled guilty to two thefts and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner aggravated by prejudice related to disability.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
