Thief picks wrong victim in top lawyer

A THIEF picked the wrong victim when he cleared out his landlord’s house.

Steven Swanson stripped the rented property of all its furniture, fixtures and fittings – including the ceiling lights.

But the house in Livingston was owned by one of Scotland’s top lawyers, Jim Keegan QC.

Mr Keegan was only too happy to take to the witness box to provide enough evidence to convict his former tenant.

Swanson, 50, who still lives in Livingston, was found guilty of theft after a trial at Livingston Sheriff Court.

He denied stealing the contents of the house at 69 Burnvale, Livingston, which he rented between September 2006 and July 2009.

Swanson claimed he had stored Mr Keegan’s possessions in a shed in the back garden. But Mr Keegan said that when he terminated the lease the shed was empty.

Swanson was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work under a community service order when he appeared for sentence yesterday.

Jim Keegan was one of the first solicitor advocates in Scotland to be appointed Queen’s Counsel.