Thief jailed for 12 monthsOT

An Oban man was sentenced to 12 months in prison the week before Christmas.

‘He came here today expecting the worse,’ said defence agent Edward Thornton last Wednesday at the town’s sheriff court.

Lewis Stewart MacLachlan, whose address was given as 29 High Street, Oban, had previously admitted breaking into the China Restaurant, Stafford Street, Oban, two nights running, on July 12 and 13 this year, and another break-in at a common close at George Street, Oban, and stealing a mountain bike on January 12.

In the first charge, the 37-year-old entered the restaurant via a back window and stole £150 in cash. The following night he threw a brick through the front window, stole a quantity of cash and then caused damage and destroyed property. The stolen cash, damage and loss of a day’s trading cost the restaurant £2,000.

Earlier in the year, on January 12, a resident of George Street, Oban, found their mountain bike had been taken from the common close and reported this to the police along with a full description; the door of the close had been forced open.

Sheriff Patrick Hughes had called for reports on MacLachlan before he passed sentence.

The 37-year-old had also been on a community payback order for assaulting a man in November 2016; his victim’s injuries left him permanently disfigured. He also admitted possessing heroin at an address in Oban in February 2017.

Mr Thornton asked the sheriff to consider a drug treatment testing order instead of prison.

‘It seems to me that he seems to have a problem with addiction; he is addicted to drugs and also to alcohol.’

He said that the treatment order would prevent ‘the revolving door of prison and relapse’.

But Sheriff Hughes said he had the protection of the public to consider, giving MacLachlan four months for stealing the bicycle and eight for the two break-ins at the restaurant, to run consecutively.

He will also have to pay £400 compensation to the victim of his attack.

The sheriff did not rule out the possibility of a drug treatment and testing order once MacLachlan had served his sentence and deferred sentence for the drug offence until June 2019.