Back to jail
A SHETLAND heroin addict desperate for professional help went on a 24 hour crime spree in Lerwick to make sure he was locked up again.
John Wood Gibson, described as a prisoner in Aberdeen, was sent back to jail for almost nine months when he appeared from custody before Lerwick Sheriff Court.
At an earlier court hearing, the 33 year old had admitted five charges including breaking in to the council’s education department, at Hayfield, and stealing a USB memory stick, attempting to break in to Grantfield Garage, causing a breach of the peace at the Gilbert Bain Hospital as well as resisting and threatening police officers, all on 4 and 5 April.
On Wednesday, the court heard how Gibson had become “increasingly despairing” waiting for help after being released from prison on 31 December.
His solicitor Matthew Harding told the court that his client had offended because he hoped to go back in to custody as he saw himself as a danger to himself and his environment.
“He is looking for custody, and then to pursue a positive line via the Community Alcohol and Drugs Services Shetland (CADSS),” he said
Sheriff Graeme Napier complied and sentenced Gibson to 267 days in jail, made up of 71 days left from a previous prison term plus 196 days for the five charges.
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