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Search forShoplifter drug addict escapes prison
Thursday, July 24, 2008, 07:00
Alan Young, of Queen Elizabeth Drive, admitted stealing more than £500 worth of items from stores across the Bay between February 17 and June 25.
Bacon, alcohol, duvet covers, perfume, coffee and a radio controlled submarine were among the goods the 29 year old stole.
Young also pleaded guilty to failing to surrender to bail on June 25 and July 18.
Prosecuting, Chris Bittlestone told Torquay Magistrates: “He was seen, in the main, committing these offences. They are opportunist thefts, it would seem.”
Mr Bittlestone told the bench Young had tested positive for cocaine and opiates when he was arrested.
In mitigation, Alan Parsons said Young's heroin addiction began when he was 16 and stemmed from the physical and sexual abuse he was subjected to as a child in care.
Mr Parsons said: “Many drug users who have had an abusive past need to take drugs to block the past out and, certainly, his addiction started that way.”
Mr Parsons told the court Young had recently relived his painful experiences, as he had been asked to make a statement following the arrest of a suspected paedophile in Birmingham.
“Giving the statement and coming out with all that, he has started using large amounts of heroin again.
“This is his way of trying to cope.”
Young is also due to give evidence at the trial, Mr Parsons said.
The solicitor admitted Young had a lengthy record but asked the bench to spare him from prison, adding: “He says he appreciates he could be sent to prison today, but the reality is drugs are widely available there.
“That will not assist him or society with getting him back on the straight and narrow.”
Mr Parsons said Young was also attacked in his home last month, when three men allegedly burst in and assaulted him with Samurai swords, resulting in Young receiving 108 stitches, and that this had compounded his stress levels.
Mr Parsons said Young had been offered a drug assessment appointment at Shrublands and he was 'desperate for treatment'.
He told the bench: “He is asking for one chance and, if you are prepared to go along with that, he would have to answer bail conditions and keep that appointment on Friday.”
The case was adjourned and Young was released on conditional bail to appear at Torquay magistrates on August 13.
John Pepper, chairman of the bench, warned Young: “We are giving you a really, very last chance.
“This is your last opportunity to stay out of prison.
“If you fail this time there will be no second chances.”
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