A callous thief who broke into an Edinburgh church and stole a valuable 19th century altar cross has been jailed for 100 days.
Gordon Shields, 43, entered the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and made off with the crucifix valued at around £400 along with a quantity of tea light holders and floor tiles.
Shields, from Tranent, East Lothian, made his way into the open church while it underwent renovations on the flooring and took the items on 27 February this year.
The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Roman Catholic Jesuit place of worship situated in the Lauriston area of the capital’s Old Town.
Shields appeared from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday after a warrant had been issued for his arrest after he failed to show up for a previous hearing.
He admitted the church theft along with offences of acting aggressively and making threats to an employee during an incident at the capital healthcare store Holland and Barrett on January 10 this year.
He also created a disturbance at his former partner’s home in Tranent by repeatedly striking the front door for around 30 minutes on July 10 this year.
The domestic offence was prosecuted under section 1 of the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 and was aggravated by involving the abuse of a partner.
Defence agent Emma Templeton told the court her client was still in possession of the stolen crucifix and will handing it back in the near future.
Sheriff Adrian Fraser told the thief there was “no alternative to custody” for the church theft and for the disturbance at the Holland and Barret store.
Shields was sentenced to a total of 100 days in custody for both offences backdated to his remand date of 7 September this year.
Sheriff Fraser also imposed a community payback order to commence on his release to mark the domestic offence case consisting of a 140 hour unpaid work order.
The sheriff heard the complainer wants to resume the relationship and agreed to the defence motion not impose a non-harassment order.
Shields will also have to engage with alcohol, drug and mental health services when directed to do so by his supervising officer.
