A Bellshill mom returned to her running car to find a man in the passenger seat attempting to steal it.
The man was Connor McKenna, and the incident happened on Motherwell Road in January of last year.
McKenna claimed it was his Aunt Brenda’s car. He appeared in Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted trying to steal a Kia Sportage.
Sinead Corrigan, the prosecutor, explained that the woman started her car at 8:20 a.m. She went inside for the kids’ jackets, planning to take them to school.
She heard the engine revving loudly and initially thought it was her husband joking. However, she then saw a dark figure in the car; condensation made it difficult to see clearly.
Opening the car door, she realized it wasn’t her husband at all. The accused man sat in the passenger seat. He quickly got out of the car.
She asked him what he was doing and he climbed over a wall, running through her neighbor’s driveway.
The mom reported the incident to the police. She had doorbell camera footage showing McKenna entering her garden, and she later identified him in a police photo lineup.
Police found him two months later and discovered McKenna has prior convictions.
His lawyer, Laura Kiernan, stated that he had an addiction at the time but has since turned his life around.
Sheriff Mungo Bovey delayed sentencing, requesting background reports and an electronic tagging review first.