FINGERPRINTS left at the scene of a crime often lead to a conviction.
Back in 1970, Greenock Sheriff Court heard that an upper denture discovered on a flat roof proved a man entered two town centre offices with intent to steal.
Both offices had been ransacked but nothing was taken.
The culprit or culprits had obviously climbed a drainpipe to get onto the flat roof of neighbouring premises and gained entry to the offices by smashing a window.
The following day an employee of one of the businesses looked out the broken window and spotted an upper denture lying on the roof.
Not long after the break-in was thought to have taken place, a police constable had seen a 28-year-old man, drunk and staggering, at the corner of Union Street and Campbell Street.
Wearing shoes but minus socks, the man had cuts and bruises on his face and hands.
He said he had been assaulted by a gang and had also lost his upper denture.
The man was later questioned by a detective constable.
The officer told the Sheriff Court: “When I showed the accused the denture retrieved from the roof, he replied: ‘They’re mine, good. Where did you find them? I’ll be able to get something to eat now’.
“Told where they were found, the accused said he could not remember very much about the previous night as he’d been drinking. He put the teeth in his mouth and they were a very good fit.
“When I cautioned and charged him with breaking into the offices, he replied: ‘The teeth are as good as a fingerprint. I vaguely remember it’.”
The man, who gave a Port Glasgow address, was found guilty and jailed for six months. He had nine previous convictions.
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TODAY'S photo flashback follows on from the recently carried photograph of Greenock’s former Mid Quay which stood across from the foot of William Street.
This postcard shows another view of the area.
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