Thief stole from city hotel rooms

Published on Thursday 9 October 2008 09:59

A THIEF stole from hotel rooms in the Capital and even ordered £200 of food and drink on someone else's bill, a court heard.

At Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday , 28-year old Andrew McGrory of High Street, Glasgow, was jailed for 12 months after pleading guilty to six charges involving hotels and one of giving a false name to police.

McGrory's escapades began on February 27 this year at the Sheraton in Festival Square, where he stole a laptop in a briefcase from a room.

It was later found in a nearby street. The same day he was in the Carlton on North Bridge. There he settled in the bar and asked staff to charge food and drink to his room.

Fiscal Depute, Malcolm Stewart, said the real occupant of the room went to investigate what was happening when the invoices were sent to the room at 1am.

McGrory, who was still sitting in the bar, made his escape, despite being chased by staff.

On March 2, he stole a wallet from a room in the Cairn Hotel in Windsor Street and tried to use it the following day to get a room at the Sheraton.

When he failed he went to the Hudson Hotel, in Hope Street, where he stole a TV set.

The Apex Hotel in Haymarket was next of McGrory's hit list. On August 26 a couple, who had been out shopping, returned to their room to find wedding rings, training shoes and 600 cigarettes missing. The police were called.

Mr Stewart said McGrory was still in the hotel and as he tried to leave was stopped. The training shoes and cigarettes were in his possession.

McGrory gave the police a false name, but the Fiscal said, it took them only a couple of hours to find out who he really was.

A solicitor appearing for McGrory, said there was nothing he could say about the offences. They were exacerbated by his schedule of previous convictions, he said, and McGrory was due to appear in Glasgow Sheriff Court on October 13 on "other matters".

"He has had no fixed address or home for a number of years and has been staying with friends in various flats" added the lawyer. His client, he added, had problems with drinking and gambling.

Jailing McGrory for 12 months, Sheriff Alistair Noble said: "There is no room for leniency in this case. You have pled guilty to a variety of offences and have a very, very substantial number of previous convictions".