A 78-YEAR-OLD man has told the Royal Court that his neighbour snuck into his flat and stole his clothes while he was out.
The pensioner was giving evidence on the first day of the Assize jury trial of 55-year-old David Gallie.
Mr Gallie denies two charges of theft and one of illegal entry with the intention to commit a crime.
The pensioner said that he had lost a spare set of keys to his flat in around November 2022 and later discovered signs that someone had been in his property.
Lights he had switched off were turned on and some items had been moved, he told the court.
Answering questions from Crown Advocate Christina Hall, prosecuting, he said: “The very first thing that alerted me was when the picture of my two daughters I have on my dresser was at a different angle. I would never leave it like that.
“It made me uneasy, to say the least. It wasn’t a nice feeling.”
The man also said he would go to look for items of clothing and find they were missing. He compiled a list of the garments that had disappeared and later gave it to the States police, the court heard.
He said that on the afternoon of New Year’s Day 2023, he came home from the shops to find the missing keys in his front door and Mr Gallie in his flat.
He said: “I told him: ‘I’ve caught you. Get out of my flat.’
“He said: ‘Can’t we be friends?’”
Mr Gallie was arrested that afternoon. Police officers then searched his flat and found clothes matching those described on the pensioner’s list, the court heard.
Mr Gallie appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on 31 August and the Royal Court on 3 November. At both appearances, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The pensioner related that when he first moved to the block of flats, he tried to befriend Mr Gallie, but the defendant had turned hostile.
He said: “He gave the impression that he didn’t like newcomers, like he thought he owned the block.
“He used to say things like: ‘Go back to Glasgow.’ He would shout at you in the street.”
On one occasion, he alleged, Mr Gallie had thrown a jug of urine against his front door.
Advocate Rui Tremoceiro, defending, asked the alleged victim: “Is it right that you opened Mr Gallie’s mail?”
He said: “I did it once by mistake. I apologised and taped it up.”
Advocate Tremoceiro asked: “Is it also right that you threw stones at his windows?”
The pensioner replied: “Nonsense.”
The advocate suggested: “You saw the clothes he was wearing and made the list and gave it to the police to get at him.”
The pensioner said: “Absolutely not.”
The trial was due to conclude today(FRI). Commissioner Alan Binnington is presiding.
