Neighbour row after homeowner caught stealing DOORBELL from next door in bizarre theft
A man in Scotland has engulfed himself into a neighbour row after he stole next door’s doorbell in a bizarre theft.
Sean McAdam, 27, was approaching the camera on his neighbour’s front door when the homeowner received a notification from their doorbell app.
The defendant admitted that he committed the theft along Bruce Gardens, Inverness, on July 5 earlier this summer.
However, the item, which the homeowner paid £130 for, was never recovered.
Defence Samantha Morrison said: “There has been an on-going dispute between his neighbour and he is deeply apologetic.”
Ordering the defendant to carry out 20 hours of unpaid work, Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald said: “It is not wise to steal a camera when it is filming.
“That is probably why you got caught.”
McAdam has already appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court earlier this year to receive his sentence, after he admitted an offence of having a bladed or sharply pointed article in a public place in September 2023.
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Previously, police had responded to reports from a member of the public, who explained that an unknown injured man, covered in blood, was in their garden.
After police searched the offender, they discovered a screwdriver in his trousers’ waistband and further investigation proved that the 27-year-old was intoxicated, which he accepted.
Ahead of sentencing, Sheriff MacDonald warned McAdam, saying: “You have been to jail for things like this before, you ought to know better. I’m sure you don’t want to go back to jail.”
She sentenced him to a community payback order with 18 months supervision, adding: “I think you need a bit more help.”
In 2022, in a different scenario, Inverness Sheriff Court heard that McAdam visited his mother’s home in January, while he was extremely drunk, when an altercation developed, causing his mother to contact the police.
In response, he snatched her phone and removed the sim card, biting it in half.
When officers arrived at the scene, McAdam is said to have lashed out with his legs.
He pleaded guilty to threatening behaviour and police assault, as well as other offences which he previously committed, such as maliciously striking two neighbours’ windows into their houses and throwing trainers at police officers.