| Martin Cord (22), a prisoner at Perth, was also ordered to serve 210 days of an unexpired prison sentence.
He had admitted that on August 21, he entered the Kingsway East Fire Station and stole a cash box containing keys, shaving bag, medication, three mobile phones, a wallet and contents, chocolate bars and a watch.
He first appeared on Tuesday and admitted his guilt, but sentence was continued to find out the length of his unexpired previous sentence.
The court had previously heard the firefighters had been out helping members of the public and trying to salvage their property following extremely heavy rain in the city.
Cord had gone into the station while it was empty.
Today, Sheriff Duff told Cord, “It may have been an opportunistic crime, but public servants were being targeted.”
He said that while Cord was “plundering and pillaging”, the firefighters were out risking their lives.
He noted that Cord had carried out the crime having been released from prison only a month before.
On his first appearance the court had heard that around 8pm Cord arrived at his parents’ Douglas home and started to empty his pockets.
His father saw him remove two mobile phones, coins, a wallet and medication.
He asked his son where these items came from, and the reply was, “Just done the fire station.”
Cord was told he would have to remove all the stolen property and was later allowed to return home when it appeared he had done so.
However, some time later his father found a mobile phone.
The following day, the accused’s father had to call the ambulance because his son was heavily under the influence of drugs. He recovered the medication, previously shown to him by accused and handed it over to police.
On Saturday accused again appeared to have overdosed and his father again called the ambulance. Police also attended, and the father handed over the mobile phone.
The father told police his son had told him he had taken the phone from the fire station.
Accused was asked by police how he felt about what he had done, given firefighters were out trying to save peoples’ property. He replied, “My mum was cracking up about it, saying ‘they’re saving peoples’ lives and I cannae believe you’ve done that’ ”.
Accused’s father later brought in a black holdall which he said he had recovered from a neighbour’s bin. This contained various items.
The value of the stolen goods was £658. |
