– Dealer faces compensation bill after stolen cars stripped for parts
– £50,000 loss after vehicles “cannibalised”
– Court considers sentence as repayment plan prepared
– Dealer faces compensation bill after stolen cars stripped for parts
– £50,000 loss after vehicles “cannibalised”
– Court considers sentence as repayment plan prepared
A car dealer has appeared in court after police discovered stolen vehicles had been stripped for parts at a yard in Cumbernauld.
John Johnson, 40, admitted a series of offences at Airdrie Sheriff Court earlier this month relating to the handling of stolen vehicles at premises on Craiglinn Industrial Estate.
Stolen vehicles dismantled at site
The court heard that five stolen vehicles had been “cannibalised” at the yard between September 2022 and April 2023, and that parts removed.
Sheriff Derek Livingston said: “There was no recovery because those vehicles were cannibalised.”
The total loss to owners was estimated at around £50,000. Charges involving nine other vehicles, including two motorhomes and a caravan, were dropped.
Sentence deferred for repayment plan
The Glasgow Times reported that Johnson of Cumbernauld now faces the prospect of a significant compensation order as an alternative to a custodial sentence.
Defence counsel Duncan McPhie told the court: “He has no cases outstanding and has nothing like this on his record.”
As Johnson is currently in employment and may be able to raise funds to repay the losses, sentencing has been deferred until next month to allow time for a repayment plan to be prepared.
Co-accused given community sentence
Co-accused George Duff, 57, admitted handling a stolen motorhome worth £52,000 at the same yard for which he had paid £26,000 after it had been stolen from another yard. Duff was ordered to complete 190 hours of unpaid community work.
Noting that the defendant had been tempted by a deal for the motorhome that was “too good to be true”, Sheriff Livingston told him: “This was gross stupidity on your part. If something looks too good to be true, the chances are it will be.”
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