Jailed for raids on businesses

A thief has been jailed for robbing two Ayr town-centre businesses after breaking into them during night-time raids.

John Thomson, 46, burst into Pine Marten Plants and The Rockpool restaurant, both in Queens Court in the town’s Sandgate, on November 14 last year.

Thomson, who appeared at Ayr Sheriff Court from custody, had only been released from prison two days before the offence.

The court heard that a witness walking past heard a banging sound about 8.45pm and spotted Thomson kicking the door of Pine Marten Plants, which has since closed down.

Police were called and they noticed a busted padlock, a window smashed in the premises, and Thomson covered in small shards of glass.

Officers recovered 16 money bags containing £72 from Thomson’s jacket pocket.

The next morning, the owner of The Rockpool restaurant informed police that his premises had been broken into overnight.

Several gin bottles had been removed from the bar and £13 in money bags had been taken.

It’s thought Thomson had entered the restaurant first, opening up the courtyard doors, which are padlocked at night, to gain entry to Pine Marten Plants.

Defence solicitor John Gallagher said Thomson has been in custody since November 15 on this matter, spending a total of 156 days behind bars.

Mr Gallagher explained that before the offence, Thomson’s girlfriend, who is type 1 diabetic, had sustained a severe spinal injury after falling into a diabetic coma and was rushed to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Mr Gallagher said: “Upon his liberation he immediately attended the hospital.

“To the last of his recollection, he had been at the hospital, had returned to Ayr, had met certain people in the town centre and then he can’t remember anything more. He presumes he had been offered and consumed Valium.

“He describes himself as being in a fairly heightened emotional state regarding the prognosis of his partner and took some drugs to deal with that.”

Mr Gallagher said Thomson “regrets the matter” and highlighted a gap of nine years in his offending history.

The lawyer added: “He is well aware the gravity of the previous convictions and the fact he was only at liberty for a short period.”

Thomson was jailed for a total of 46 weeks, 26 of which are for the Queens Court break-ins and are to run consecutively to a 20-week sentence due to him committing an offence while on early release.