A former boxer who broke into and stole £5 from a coffee shop before breaking into a hotel and stealing a TV and radios has been jailed.
Christopher Jones, 45, said he committed the offences in order to feed himself.
Jones pleaded guilty to breaking into the Willows Coffee Shop in St John’s Place, Perth, on March 26 and helping himself to £5.
Two days later, he forced his way into the bar area of the Station Hotel and stole a television, two digital radios and various groceries which Dundee Sheriff Court heard were worth £550.
Jones, who is registered blind, previously hit the headlines in April 2017 after admitting causing £100,000 of damage after trying to blow up his block of flats in Dundee’s Park Avenue.
Fiscal depute Jill Drummond said in regards to the incident at the coffee shop, Jones had forced open a metal gate.
CCTV footage was reviewed by police and Jones was identified by the officers in the footage. In response to being cautioned and charged with the theft, Jones said: “I spent the money on food.”
Jones would then go on to target the Station Hotel and was seen in the bar area by a man reviewing CCTV of the area.
Ms Drummond said: “The witness thought this was strange and when investigating further, the accused was seen to take a TV from the wall and remove it from the bar area.
“Police were contacted who attended immediately. Officers began a systematic search of rooms as it was assumed the accused was the only person in the building and that he was the person responsible.”
Police arrested Jones in a function room and found he had sachets of tea, coffee and sugar stuffed in his pockets.
The large television was found on a trolley and told officers he had placed a bag with more items in the rear of the building before the police arrived.
This was found to contain two radios and further sachets.
Jones, a prisoner of HMP Perth, returned to the dock for sentencing following the preparation of social work reports.
Defence solicitor David Holmes said Jones was formerly a personal trainer and had turned to heroin within the last year as he struggled to come to terms with the loss of his sight and his employment.
He added that Jones was subject to four community payback orders at the time of the offences and had only recently disclosed his drug difficulty to social workers.
When passing sentence, Sheriff Derek Reekie said: “I have considered very carefully everything said on your behalf.
“However, you are already subject to four community payback orders for analogous offending, albeit at a lesser level.
“I take the view having regard to your record as a whole, all that coupled with the circumstances of these two offences, there is no alternative to a custodial sentence.”
Jones was jailed for eight months backdated to March.
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