Richey denies stealing handbag
KENNY Richey has denied stealing a handbag from a woman in a pub in Edinburgh.
Richey, 44, was arrested in the early hours of yesterday in the city’s Cowgate after the bag was reported stolen the previous evening.
It is claimed Richey and co-accused Ronald Mathieson, 43, stole the bag from the Artisan bar in Edinburgh’s London Road.
Wearing a charcoal suit and black shirt, Richey appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday afternoon and pleaded not guilty to a charge of theft.
Richey’s solicitor, Angus McLennan, also challenged a charge that his client broke an undertaking not to commit any crimes after he was released in July last year.
Sheriff Celia Sanderson set a date for Richey’s trial in September this year, with an intermediate diet in August.
Mathieson, of South Queensferry, also appeared and admitted stealing the bag and its contents.
Sheriff Sanderson deferred sentence on him until Richey’s intermediate diet date and allowed both men bail.
A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: “A 44-year-old man was arrested and charged following an alleged theft that happened in the London Road area of Edinburgh.”