A Hawick man who committed a catalogue of offending to fund his drug habit was jailed for 30 months at Jedburgh Sheriff Court last Friday.
Lee Smith, 32, of Mansfield Gardens, admitted a number of charges, including housebreaking, theft, possession of cannabis, threatening behaviour and breaching bail in Hawick between July 2011 and September last year.
He also pleaded guilty to, between July 28 and August 9, 2011, breaking into a house at Weensland Road, Hawick, and stealing a television, money, a safe and its contents.
The haul, worth £300, was never recovered
The householder, who suffers from learning disabilities, was on holiday at the time.
Smith admitted stealing biscuits and a bottle of children’s medicine at Lidl, Wilton Path, Hawick, on March 25, 2012. He was stopped as he walked out of the shop without paying.
The accused also admitted breaching a bail condition not to enter Weensland Road when seen walking there on April 1 last year, breaching a bail curfew to remain at his home between 9pm and 7am on May 11, and having cannabis in his possession at Hawick police station on May 12.
Smith behaved in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting and swearing at Weensland Road on June 17, and demanding keys for his grandmother’s flat. He also admitted stealing a Louis Vuitton bag containing jewellery and £1,200 cash at a house in Howegate, Hawick, on June 23. There was no recovery.
Smith pleaded guilty to stealing a purse and its contents, a lucky charm and £50.57 at a house at Loan, Hawick, on September 9. The stolen goods were recovered.
“His long-standing drug problem has led to this catalogue of offending,” explained defence lawyer Iain Burke.
Sheriff Derrick McIntyre told Smith, who had previously been placed on a DTTO (Drug Treatment and Testing Order): “You have had a chance and it has not worked out.”