Sneak thief back in the dock

Jul 30 2011 by Andy Newport, Paisley Daily Express

A HEARTLESS thief who was jailed for robbing an 83-year-old woman after posing as a Good Samaritan has ended up back in court for breaching a probation order.

Helen McCunnie made her latest appearance in the dock after she failed to keep appointments designed to monitor her progress as part of a supervision programme.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard that 39-year-old McCunnie had missed the appointments as she was suffering from anxiety attacks.

Earlier this year, McCunnie had been branded “despicable” by a sheriff after a court heard how she called at the home of an 83-year-old woman, who walks with the aid of a zimmer frame, and gained the OAP’s trust.

McCunnie knocked at the pensioner’s door and, when her victim answered, she told her she was collecting cash for a local church.

The kind-hearted OAP agreed to help out but, as soon as she turned her back to get some money, McCunnie sneaked into her living room.

When the elderly woman returned and found McCunnie inside her home, the con artist asked if she could give her a plastic carrier bag.

This time, when she went off to retrieve one for the accused, McCunnie grabbed her purse and took to her heels.

Police were alerted when it became clear what had happened and officers, acting on information received, later went to McCunnie’s home in Cedar Avenue, Johnstone, where they recovered the purse – minus its contents.

McCunnie was handed a one-year jail sentence for the theft but was released early.

However, she ended up back in court to answer charges of a second theft of a handbag which took place in Overtoun Crescent, Johnstone, before she was originally jailed.

Sheriff Mhairi MacTaggart placed McCunnie on probation.

Now the accused is facing custody again for being in breach of that probation order.

Defence agent Kirsty McGeehan assured Sheriff MacTaggart that her client was determined to complete the period of probation.

Sheriff MacTaggart then revoked the original order and placed McCunnie on probation for a fresh 18-month period.