Stay out of all the town bars
Sheriff’s sober up warning
A man who turns to crime when he drinks is now in Last Chance Saloon.
It’s vital that Stephen Dempsey, 49, stays sober until June 13.
Otherwise, he could spend a very long time behind bars.
Sheriff Desmond Leslie told Dempsey: “If you get in trouble in the next two weeks, you can rest assured you are going for a significant stretch in jail.”
He allowed Dempsey bail until June 13 – on condition that he stays out of EVERY pub in Ayr, Prestwick and Troon.
The sheriff saw a catalogue of convictions against Dempsey, of Donald Crescent in Troon.
And he told rugged, bearded Dempsey: “These are matters that could result in you going to jail for two years.”
The latest conviction against him is for abusive and threatening behaviour in Ayr’s Carrick Street on March 4 this year.
Depute fiscal Kevin Jarvis described how d runken Dempsey pestered young people queuing to get into an event.
And he simply wouldn’t take police warnings to go home.
Defence lawyer Tony Currie admitted: “It’s par for the course for Mr Dempsey. He was away from his home in Troon, and drinking to excess.”
Dempsey picked up other convictions during his time in Ayr. On March 11 he assaulted a barmaid in the Central Bar by grabbing her hair and pushing her against a wall.
Then on March 12 he stole alcohol from the Coop store in Sandgate.
Things got even worse for Dempsey when there was a fire at his Troon home on May 8.
And this indirectly led to to him being convicted of three more charges: disorderly behaviour, struggling violently with police, and being abusive at Ayr Hospital’s A& E.
These offences saw him remanded in custody, and Mr Currie told the court: “His home was severely damaged by the fire.
“Alcohol wasn’t a feature of events leading him to jump from the window. And although he was in pain, his behaviour at the hospital was represhensible.”
Mr Currie said: “He’s been alcohol free for a number of weeks, and was given treatment for a broken foot.
“He has a real issue with alcohol and he clearly needs help, whether through imprisonment or another route.”
Sheriff Leslie told Dempsey: “I have some sympathy for the position you found yourself in when you jumped out the house.
“But no sympathy for the way you treated people in the hospital.”
He warned him: “If you’re going to drink, you will lose control and end up back here in jail, where you have spent most of your recent past.”
The sheriff asked Dempsey: “Can you manage two weeks?” “Aye,” replied Dempsey. “Well, we’ll see,” said the sheriff.