Jeslek
Banned
SOLICITOR Douglas Wright was pleased to have got his client freed on bail - but less delighted when the man stole his BMW immediately after the court hearing.
The 30-year-old man was bailed at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court after appearing on a charge of being drunk in charge of a vehicle.
But when the defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, left the courtroom on Monday, he walked straight into the lawyers’ room where he stole the keys to Mr Wright’s BMW 5 series.
He then jumped in the vehicle and drove off, leaving the lawyer stranded.
Later, an embarrassed Mr Wright relived the incident - and admitted he had been the butt of a few jokes by his colleagues.
When the solicitor noticed his keys were missing, he ran to the car park to find his W-reg BMW had gone.
Mr Wright, 58, who has handled cases at the court for nearly 30 years, then called the police before looking on the building’s CCTV footage. He could only see the back of a figure making its way into the lawyers’ room - but he thought it was his client.
So he told the police the defendant’s address and they found the man sitting in the £21,000 vehicle at a traffic light.
When police arrested him, he then asked if Mr Wright would represent him again. Mr Wright refused.
The day afterwards, the man appeared in court and pleaded guilty to stealing the car.
He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced later this month.
Mr Wright said: "The problem that you have got to realise is that when you work in law you deal with criminals.
"But when this happened I was very annoyed.
"I had represented this guy and all the thanks he could give me was to steal my car."
He added: "When I looked on the CCTV I thought it was him so I told the police where he lived.
"They arrested him in Kilwinning at some traffic lights. They saw him sitting there so blocked him in, which is just as well as he would have given them a run for their money. Luckily the car was not damaged.
"Amazingly, he asked if I would represent him. I refused because it would be unethical and immoral and I could have potentially been a witness. But to be honest, I didn’t want to."
"I have worked there for around 28 years and I have never heard of anything like this happening before.
"But I must admit that all the comments about it are beginning to run a bit dry."
The 30-year-old man was bailed at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court after appearing on a charge of being drunk in charge of a vehicle.
But when the defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, left the courtroom on Monday, he walked straight into the lawyers’ room where he stole the keys to Mr Wright’s BMW 5 series.
He then jumped in the vehicle and drove off, leaving the lawyer stranded.
Later, an embarrassed Mr Wright relived the incident - and admitted he had been the butt of a few jokes by his colleagues.
When the solicitor noticed his keys were missing, he ran to the car park to find his W-reg BMW had gone.
Mr Wright, 58, who has handled cases at the court for nearly 30 years, then called the police before looking on the building’s CCTV footage. He could only see the back of a figure making its way into the lawyers’ room - but he thought it was his client.
So he told the police the defendant’s address and they found the man sitting in the £21,000 vehicle at a traffic light.
When police arrested him, he then asked if Mr Wright would represent him again. Mr Wright refused.
The day afterwards, the man appeared in court and pleaded guilty to stealing the car.
He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced later this month.
Mr Wright said: "The problem that you have got to realise is that when you work in law you deal with criminals.
"But when this happened I was very annoyed.
"I had represented this guy and all the thanks he could give me was to steal my car."
He added: "When I looked on the CCTV I thought it was him so I told the police where he lived.
"They arrested him in Kilwinning at some traffic lights. They saw him sitting there so blocked him in, which is just as well as he would have given them a run for their money. Luckily the car was not damaged.
"Amazingly, he asked if I would represent him. I refused because it would be unethical and immoral and I could have potentially been a witness. But to be honest, I didn’t want to."
"I have worked there for around 28 years and I have never heard of anything like this happening before.
"But I must admit that all the comments about it are beginning to run a bit dry."