A SERIAL alcohol thief has been jailed for four months after clocking up his 78th conviction for dishonesty.
Daniel Hamilton, 23 – described as an alcoholic since he was 12 years old – was arrested on Wednesday evening last week after stealing eight cans of lager from Tweedbank Late Shop.
He appeared from custody the following day and also pleaded guilty to stealing two bottles of wine from Sainsbury’s in Selkirk on August 5.
Prosecutor Graham Fraser said Hamilton, of Buccleuch Road, Selkirk, had a number of cases outstanding and was already subject to a court order banning him from licensed premises. He explained: “He has something like 76 previous convictions for dishonesty, 21 offences committed while on bail and 14 breaches of an ASBO [antisocial beahviour order].”
The value of the drink in both cases was about £10.
Mr Fraser added: “I do not know whether it is compulsion or desperation, but he is a regular offender. He is not under control for his behaviour. Even as recently as a week past Monday, there was a court order for him to be kept out of licensed premises and he is here again.”
Matt Patrick, defending, said: “His record is terrible. He has been an alcoholic since he was 12 years old. It is quite a worrying tale. He has been drinking for the past 10 years. He has a compulsion to drink. He has to stop drinking.”
Mr Patrick added that there were a number of cases in the system for Hamilton, but he wanted the matter dealt with that day to get it out of the way.
Sheriff Derrick McIntyre said he was surprised Hamilton was still alive, given his alcohol intake.
For each of the thefts he imposed jail sentences of four months, to run concurrently. The other cases are due to call on October 15, but the Crown indicated it was now likely to accelerate matters.