Just as they were wrapping things up, one of the robbers blurted out the name of his accomplice, and after the robbery was said and done, the alleged accomplice offered a thinly-veiled confession on Facebook.
Ooops.
According to the Edinburgh News, Gary Pacitti wrote the following on his Facebook page after the March 2 armed robbery at Ladbrokes on Portobello High Street:
“I love money, that’s my problem.”
He added an “ashamed” emoticon symbol to the post. This was spotted by his sister, who asked her brother what he had done.
“Ladbrokes Portobello,” he wrote.
Pacitti’s problems escalated a week later when the cops caught up with him – and he was too drunk to be interviewed.
During the heist, Pacitti wore a hooded top and a dust mask as a disguise, but as the gang fled with £4100 and a watch purloined from a manager, one of the gang said “Gary, this way.”
All three suspects spoke with a local accent and are described as white.
The first suspect stood about 5ft 6ins tall, with a slim build. He was wearing a white paper boiler suit with the hood up, along with a black balaclava, and black gloves, the Daily Record reports. He was also carrying the handgun.
The second suspect is over 6ft tall, with a medium to stocky build and wore an orange/red hooded top with the hood up, a white dust mask, black sunglasses and light-colored trousers, dark shoes, and black gloves.
The third suspect is over 6ft tall and also has a medium to stocky build. He was wearing a white paper boiler suit with the hood up, white dust mask, and dark shoes. He was carrying the hammer.
A 21-year-old man was on duty at the bookmakers during the heist, which occurred shortly before 8:00 p.m., BBC News reports. Police say that two of the men wore white paper boiler suits and dust masks, and they escaped in a black Audi A1. They then abandoned the car in nearby Danderhall around 8:10 p.m.
One of the men who was wearing a boiler suit pointed the gun at him and said:
“Dinnae press any buttons,” the Edinburgh News reports.
“Thankfully, the staff member was not injured during this robbery, but this was a terrifying experience, which left him understandably shaken,” Detective Inspector Alan O’Brien said.
Pacitti’s DNA was recovered on a dust mask found near the getaway car, the Edinburgh News reported.
A day before the heist, Pacitti, a former resident of Bellenden Gardens, posted on his Facebook page: “Five year [sic] for a few grand – no thank you,” but then posted later on that he was “feeling lucky.”
Arrested on March 9, he later wrote “Looking at a nice 7 year … you win some, you lose some,” the Edinburgh News reports. Since being jailed at HMP Edinburgh, he has posted “Lovin [sic] life in Costa Del Saughton.”
At the time of the raid on the bookmakers, Pacitti, 21, was on bail, deferred sentence, a drug treatment and testing order and a community payback order, the High Court in Edinburgh heard earlier this week.
During the hearing, he admitted assaulting a man and robbing him of an Armani watch and money in conjunction with the other suspects, whom are all still at large.
Pacitti was remanded into custody, He will be sentenced at the high court in Glasgow in July.
