Paisley Sheriff Court sends heroin addict to jail for theft

Dec 2 2009 by Lynn Jolly, Paisley Daily Express

A HEROIN addict who was caught red-handed as he attempted to raid his own stepfather’s home to steal cash to buy drugs has been jailed.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard that 23-year-old Kenneth Bright was spotted by a neighbour who had noticed that a window at the flat next door was lying open.

The concerned neighbour called the police and, when officers arrived at the scene, they found intruder Bright still inside the ground floor flat in Cartside Avenue, Johnstone.

Bright refused to give himself up and reinforcements had to be called in to coax him into leaving the flat.

He eventually came out and was immediately arrested before being charged with committing a break-in.

The court was told that a laptop computer had been moved and placed to the side, indicating that Bright had intended to take that, as well as £74 that had been stolen.

In court, Bright admitted committing the offence on October 13.

Defence agent Terry Gallanagh pleaded with Sheriff Tom Ward to give his client a chance to have a Drug Treatment and Testing Order assessment carried out in the hope that a jail sentence could be avoided.

Mr Gallanagh said Bright had a deeply-entrenched heroin addiction that had already damaged his body so badly that he was “killing himself”.

The lawyer added: “He has a chronic addiction which has already presented him with a serious stomach ailment.

“His relationship with heroin is killing him.

“He recognises the scale of his problem and seeks help.

“He has tasted jail repeatedly in the past thanks to his offending and it is clear that is not addressing the underlying problem.

“This is a young man of 23 who, hopefully, has his whole life in front of him. If he is simply sent to jail again and then released back to his old ways, he is going to live a very much shorter life, that’s for sure.”

However, after studying reports and the accused’s criminal record, Sheriff Ward said he had heard a lot about Bright’s problems but very little had been said about the effect his crimes have had on his victims.

Sheriff Ward told the accused: “You are an inveterate thief and, given your record, there can only be one disposal here today.”

Bright, of Hillhead, Glasgow, was jailed for nine months, with the sentence being backdated to the time that he was taken into custody.