Brazen thief stole £29,000 diamond ring haul from Scots shopping centre

Jack Duff acted alongside another male and stole 25 diamond rings worth £29k from Ernest Jones in Braehead Shopping Centre.

An opportunistic thug brazenly stole £29,000 worth of diamond rings from a Renfrewshire jewellery shop.

Jack Duff acted alongside another male when they robbed the Ernest Jones shop in Braehead Shopping Centre in August last year.

Duff waited until the sales staff were dealing with other customers before taking the chance to pinch several diamond rings from the eternities counter.

But one swipe wasn’t enough for the brazen 19-year-old thief who returned to the cabinet for a second time to fill his pockets with more diamond rings.

But Duff left the cabinet drawer open which caught the attention of a shop worker who raised the alarm.

Procurator fiscal depute Abbey McKenna told Paisley Sheriff Court: “Around 5.45pm on Monday, August 21, last year, the accused and another male entered the Ernest Jones store in Braehead Shopping Centre.

“The accused walked towards the Michael Kors cabinet at the rear of the store while the other male hovered around the front door area.

“At this time, Ms Blyth who was working as a sales associate at the time, spoke with the accused who stated he was ‘just looking.’

“A short time later, Ms Blyth spoke with another customer.

“During this time, the other male approached the eternities cabinet, reached underneath and pulled open a drawer.

“He then removed several diamond rings and concealed them within his pockets before being joined by the accused who also removed several items.

“The accused and the other male then walked away from the cabinet towards the door.

“Duff then returned to the cabinet, removed further items and left the drawer open. The other male pushed him back to go and close over the drawer and they both then left the store. About ten minutes later, Ms Blyth noted the cabinet to be ajar. She attended at the cabinet and noted an unknown quantity of stock to be missing.

“The manager of the store, Ms McLean was contacted and police thereafter contacted.”

Court heard cops viewed the shop’s CCTV footage on Wednesday, August 30, last year and identified Duff.

In total, 25 rings, worth £29,000 was stolen with Ms McKenna telling the court these were never recovered.

Defence agent Ms Docherty asked for reports to be prepared and reserved mitigation.

Sheriff Amel Elfallah warned this was a serious case and deferred sentence for the preparation of a criminal justice social work report and a restriction of liberty order assessment.

Duff, of Leithland Road, Glasgow, had his bail order continued meantime.

He will return to the town’s court for sentencing on November 22.

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