A thief broke into a rural Stirling pub-restaurant and stole booze before making off with its van.
Gerald Pender had admitted breaking into the Gargunnock Inn on January 17 this year and carrying out the thefts while on bail on another matter.
The 26-year-old, of McNeill Crescent, Gargunnock, did not stop to give details following an accident involving the van around 3.00am that day on the A811, Kippen. The vehicle had damaged a lamppost there by colliding with it.
Pender had failed to give his name and address as well as the name and address of the owner of the vehicle and its registration.
It is understood that police officers contacted the pub owner in the early hours of the morning to ask him about the van.
When the owner and the officers went to the Inn the van wasn’t there and they noticed that the back door of the premises was open.
Pender is thought to have accessed the inn by climbing in through a window before stealing a bottle of vodka.
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Pender had further admitted charges of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner at Forth Valley Royal Hospital by using threatening and abusive language to police officers and failing to provide a specimen of blood to ascertain his ability to drive.
Not guilty pleas to charges of driving without a licence, not reporting an accident to the police, failing to give information on the identity of the driver, and failing to cooperate with a preliminary breath test were accepted by the Crown.
When the matter called for sentence at Stirling Sheriff Court on Wednesday, Pender’s agent Frazer McCready told Sheriff James MacDonald that a report made no reference to a restriction of liberty order assessment which had been requested.
Sheriff MacDonald said: “The report doesn’t address the issue at all. I think it is a fair point. There should be an assessment as to the suitability for the restriction of liberty order before the court.”
Sheriff MacDonald further deferred sentence until July 20 for the RLO assessment.
