Man who stole musical equipment is sentenced

A man who broke into commercial premises and stole musical equipment owned by the accordion and fiddle club was yesterday spared a prison sentence.

But Craig Manson, 24, of Lerwick’s Ladies Drive, was given a long list of non-custodial penalties to remember when he appeared in the dock for sentence.

Manson previously admitted helping himself to a storage box and a quantity of cases containing musical and sound equipment when he was “off his face” on drugs.

The theft, made from premises owned by The Shetland Hotel, happened on 4th November.

That came a week after he had stolen £346 from a friend’s nearby Ladies Drive address.

The court previously heard Manson was in the house when he saw his friend hide a roll of money.

Later on he smashed a window and gained entry to the house before helping himself to the cash.

But he cut his hand on the glass, and his DNA was recovered from the scene.

Sentence was deferred until yesterday for reports.

Procurator fiscal Duncan MacKenzie said the door leading to the equipment would have taken very little effort to force open.

“In fact it was so weak you may not realise you had overcome the lock.”

He added the musical kit, which was fully recovered, were not items Manson had any use for.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said Manson had been on drugs and was experiencing problems at the time of the offence.

“He lost his job and, if you like, his self-respect, and started to use drugs,” he said.

However, he added things for Manson were rapidly improving.

He said Manson had managed to get himself into employment and was training as a plasterer.

Mr Allan added Manson had not been in further trouble with the police since the incident took place.

Sheriff David Hall said Manson’s offending was a “serious matter”.

Placing him on a one year supervision order, he ordered Manson to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work within a nine-month time-frame.

He also told Manson to abide by a three-month restriction of liberty order, which means he is now unable to leave his house between 7pm and 7am.

Manson was ordered to pay £346 in compensation for stealing the cash.