A 30-year-old Inverness man with “an appalling criminal record” was jailed for 24 months after breaking into an 82 year old woman’s house just 200 yards from Police Scotland headquarters.
Paul Macdonald appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court yesterday to plead guilty to stealing jewellery, bottles of alcohol, a laptop and various bank cards and documents from the property in Inverness’s Old Perth Road on June 26.
Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood was told that Macdonald, a prisoner at Inverness, had just been released from a previous prison sentence two days earlier when he carried out the daytime raid.
He told police he had been hospitalised soon after being released from jail, and when he was discharged, picked the first house he saw.
Raigmore Hospital is located across the road from police HQ on Old Perth Road.
Fiscal depute David Morton said: “The occupant of the house went away for the weekend and neighbours knew that she had gone.
“One of them saw Macdonald approach the property carrying a polythene bag. He left and returned a few minutes later with an even bigger bag,
“The neighbour got one of her neighbours to accompany her to check the house and discovered it had been broken into. He had used a garden ornament to smash the kitchen window after his attempt to kick in the door had failed.
“When arrested, he told police he had a £2,300 drug debt and went to the first house he saw after getting out of hospital.” Mr Morton added.
Defending, Marc Dickson said his client had a long standing drug addiction which had led to his offending.
“He has an unenviable and appalling record because his life has been blighted by drug addiction.
“Perhaps the court could consider a drug treatment and testing order assessment.” Mr Dickson added.
But Sheriff Fleetwood said he had no alternative to jail Macdonald because of his record.