Court / Man told to pay £2k in compensation after crashing stolen car
A MAN who stole car keys from under an elderly woman’s plant pot and crashed her vehicle into a wall – writing it off in the process – has been ordered to pay £2,000 in compensation.
Lee Hamilton, from the town’s Sandveien, was also ordered to pay a fine of £540 and was given six penalty points.
Lerwick Sheriff Court previously heard Hamilton was only traced to the accident after his DNA was found on an airbag at the scene.
The 29-year-old had initially denied being involved, but previously admitted to stealing the car, driving without insurance and failing to report the accident.
Hamilton stole the car after taking the keys from underneath a plant pot outside the woman’s home in Lerwick on either Christmas Day or Boxing Day morning in 2023.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie previously told Lerwick Sheriff Court that the woman did not know Hamilton, but he must have learned where she kept her keys.
Police became aware of the theft on Boxing Day morning when the car was found in Goodlad Crescent, where it had crashed into a wall and been “abandoned”.
Significant damage was caused to the wall, and the car was found with the airbags deployed.
Officers suspected Hamilton was the culprit, but he “denied all knowledge” of the incident when questioned.
However his DNA was eventually confirmed to be on the airbag, with Mackenzie previously telling court that Hamilton “clearly has accepted responsibility now”.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank had deferred sentencing on Hamilton for a week for the court to find out how much the repairs to the stolen car were.
Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday that damage to the wall was worth £1,150 plus VAT.
The car was written off but as it was unsecured it was not covered by insurance. The court heard that it cost the owner £2,500 to replace.
Defence agent Tommy Allan said there was prospect of some compensation being paid given that his client had saved up £2,000 ahead of potentially starting up a business.
Allan previously said Hamilton had not been in any legal difficulties since the incident.
Although he acknowledged the £2,000 compensation order did not fully cover the financial impact of the offence, Sheriff Cruickshank gave Hamilton four weeks to pay up, with the fine to be paid in instalments thereafter.
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