A pickpocket caught on camera stealing a wallet from an 81-year-old man appeared in Magistrates’ Court yesterday after video footage of his crime went viral.

Dakari Hollis pleaded guilty to stealing the wallet, which contained $450 in cash, as the elderly victim climbed the stairs in Hamilton’s Walker Arcade, which links Front Street to Reid Street.

Hollis, 41, struck in broad daylight last Friday.

Magistrate’s Court heard that at about 12.40pm the victim was walking alone in the arcade.

As he climbed the stairs, he felt someone brush against him and a “tug” near his back left pocket.

He checked the pocket and discovered the wallet had gone. The victim tried to follow Hollis and asked for help from other members of the public, but Hollis escaped the scene.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo was told police were contacted and the building manager was able to provide video footage of the incident.

The recording was also released on WhatsApp, and quickly spread across social media.

Several members of the public later contacted police, identifying Hollis as the man seen in the footage.

Hollis, who was said in court to be of no fixed abode, was remanded in custody and Mr Tokunbo ordered a Social Inquiry Report and a drug assessment.

Hollis is expected to return to the court in September for sentencing.

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