Jail for man who broke curfew

A Lerwick man was imprisoned for eight months after breaching his restriction of liberty and community service orders that he received for a string of thefts committed last year.

Two months of Jamie Neill’s sentence was for smashing the glass in the door of a friend’s house when he found himself locked out

Appearing from custody in Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday, Neill, 39, of Sandveien admitted breaching his restriction of liberty order and payback order.

He also admitted throwing a TV through the double-glazed panel of his friend’s door to gain entry to the house at Rudda Court on 17th December, causing £200 of damage.

Neill had been due to stand trial and changed his plea to guilty after his hearing was delayed because he was unable to make a 10am court appointment.

Tommy Allan, defending, told the court that Neill had committed most of the thefts, which happened between 25th of August and 30th December last year, in December, when his drinking had been “out of control”. He had cut his drinking altogether since being remanded in custody and had reduced his methadone intake.

He had been confined to his house under curfew and five of the breaches had been for the time it would take to smoke a cigarette in the garden. One other had involved him staying at his brother’s and missing his curfew altogether.

Sheriff Philip Mann said that the last time Neill had been in court, he had been minded to jail him but for the eloquence of his defence solicitor which won him a restriction of liberty and community payback sentence instead.

This time he was not going to be so lucky and the sheriff revoked both the non-custodial orders and sentenced him to six months for the thefts and two months for breaking the glass door, backdated to 17th June.