Heroin bra yob battered her pal
Drug debt sparked row
A yob who battered her pal in a violent attack has narrowly avoided jail.
Kelly Manion, 34, assaulted Carolanne McPhilemy by grabbing her by the hair and punching her on the head during the incident, which took at an address in Maxwellton Road.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard yesterday the spat happened over an alleged drugs debt owed to Manion, who exploded in violence when she met up with the victim on December 5, 2015.
Fiscal depute John Penman told the court that since the time of the attack, Manion had served 140 days imprisonment, after sneaking heroin into Low Moss Prison, hidden in her bra.
Manion’s defence agent said following her recent time behind bars, the accused was “terrified at the prospect that she could return to custody”.
He said: “We seem to have a two-fold drugs problem.
“Following her recent conviction, she is terrified at the prospect that she could return to custody.
“Assault was associated with a disagreement over heroin money.”
Sheriff Seith Ireland described the assault as a “very serious matter,” adding that violence was not a justifiable means to settle a disagreement within civilised society.
He said: “I will not tolerate people thinking, ‘Someone stole from me so I will batter them’. That’s not acceptable behaviour within society.
“I hope the treatment will help curb the bad habits related to your continuing drug problem and hopefully, who knows, maybe even get you off drugs all together.”
He imposed a Community Payback Order of supervision for a period of 12 months.
He also sentenced Manion to 150 hours of unpaid work, reduced to 140 hours for pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity.
He added: “You will also receive treatment from the Renfrewshire Drug Service for a period of 12 months.”
Earlier, Manion, of Brown Street, Paisley, had attempted to enter HMP Low Moss when passing sniffer dogs detected the smell of drugs coming from her body.
Police officers who carried out a search found 1.9 grams of the class A drug concealed in her bra.
She admitted trying to smuggle the £70 quantity of drugs into the prison, which is said to be worth £210 in the jail system.