A PRISONER who was jailed for carrying out two armed robberies on a Jedburgh petrol station while disguised as a scarecrow has received a further four-month sentence.
Craig Stevens, formerly of Jedburgh and Kelso, was caught sneaking drugs and mobile phones back into jail after a day out and claimed he was doing it to repay money he had borrowed.
Stevens had been let out of Castle Huntly to perform voluntary work for a day but was caught on his way back in with two mobile phones hidden in his underwear.
He also had two mobile phone chargers, some prescription tablets and syringes of liquid which contained testosterone and horse steroid trenbolone.
Stevens had been jailed for five years in 2010 after stealing £180 in two raids on the Shell Garage in Jedburgh while armed with a knife in August 2009, with witnesses saying he wore a scarecrow disguise.
He also committed a knifepoint robbery of the former Somerfield supermarket in Hawick in May 2009, taking £350.
Ex-army engineer Stevens, 25, c/o Perth Prison, admitted introducing illicit items into Castle Huntly open prison near Dundee on September 21 last year.
Fiscal depute Rebecca Kynaston told Perth Sheriff Court on Tuesday: “The gatehouse is the area where prisoners must attend on their return to be searched. The accused was an inmate at the time.
“He was being readied for release and as part of this was allowed to carry out work as a volunteer one day a week. He returned and was searched.
“Prison officers immediately found two mobile phone chargers in his possession. He was moved to the office and given a thorough search.
“Two mobile phones and syringes of yellow liquid and other tablets were found. He was placed in solitary confinement before being moved to another prison.”
Solicitor Garry Fowlis, defending, said: “He was a model prisoner and had not come to the attention of the authorities. This has had a catastrophic effect on his life.
“Unfortunately, and very foolishly, he borrowed some money from someone in the prison. This was to buy a gift for his sister’s forthcoming wedding.
“He had every intention of paying it back but things took a turn for the worse and threats of physical violence were made towards him and his family.
“It was made quite clear to him that he would co-operate and bring items back into the prison for this individual. He should have alerted the prison authorities to what was going on.”
Mr Fowlis said Stevens had been “punished in a number of ways” within the prison system and had also lost out on the offer of a job on his release.
Sheriff Michael Fletcher added four months to the end of Stevens current sentence and said his offence was one which would have affected “the good order of the prison”.