A drunk who stole booze and brought on havoc in a Paisley store simply 24 hours after being arrested has been branded a “public hazard” by a sheriff.
William Edwards trashed a show and behaved threateningly in direction of employees at Tesco Specific filling station in Paisley’s Renfrew Highway on December 14 final yr - 24 hours after being lifted by cops for a ‘carbon copy’ incident in Glasgow’s Crookston.
The 30-year-old refused to depart, lifted cans of cider off the shelf and started ingesting earlier than refusing to pay at each premises in a bid to ‘get the jail’.
His behaviour, which was slammed by Sheriff Brian Mohan at Paisley Sheriff Courtroom, was described as a “cry for assist” by his lawyer who stated Edwards was not coping out of custody.
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Edwards appeared at courtroom through video hyperlink on Friday the place it was heard he entered the newsagent in Crookston round 8pm and picked up a can of cider.
Nonetheless, when the employee approached him, he grew to become “more and more agitated” and hurled abuse, threatening to wreck the store.
Procurator fiscal depute David McDonald stated: “The feminine member of employees noticed him standing on the store flooring ingesting from a can of cider.
“She approached him and requested him if he was going to pay for the objects in his possession.
“He then stated ‘no, are you going to make me?’
“At which level she requested him to depart the premises.
“At this level, his behaviour deteriorated, he refused to depart, started shouting and swearing and strolling across the retailer.
“He took possession of a glass bottle of sentimental drink and threatened to wreck the store at this level.
“The employees member regularly requested him to depart and he continued to refuse, strolling out and in of the store changing into more and more agitated.
“She activated the silent alarm and defined to the management room and so they contacted the police.
“She suggested him the police had been contacted and he replied ‘so what?’
“At this level he regularly left and returned.”
Police arrived round 8.50pm to talk with employees in regards to the incident.
Whereas nonetheless in attendance, Edwards entered the store once more ingesting from one other can of cider and was identified to police who arrested him.
The very subsequent day, additionally round 8pm, Edwards entered the Tesco filling station after being launched from custody the place he continued his behaviour.
Mr McDonald added: “He started knock objects off the show on to the ground, damaging a number of objects.
“A member of employees approached him to ask if she might assist him, to which he replied that he wished to go to jail.
“He was instructed he couldn't stick with it on this method.
“He then took a brief step in direction of her and stated ‘what are you going to do about it?’
“This alarmed the member of employees who contacted the police.”
The courtroom heard a buyer tried to calm Edwards and usher him out of the store, the place he was arrested a short while later.
Edwards admitted the fees in opposition to him when he appeared at courtroom, along with his lawyer saying it was an try to get again into custody as he was combating drink and medicines.
She added: “He had been doing effectively out of custody for six weeks after which discovered himself in homeless lodging.
“Sadly issues deteriorated from there and he wished, in his phrases, to ‘get the jail’.
“He was in a cycle he couldn’t get out of and the one means he felt he might get help earlier than was when he was serving a custodial sentence.
“There is no such thing as a excuse for his behaviour and he is aware of what his destiny goes to be.”
Sheriff Brian Mohan slammed Edwards for behaving threateningly in direction of two feminine members of employees who had been “simply attempting to do their job”.
He added: “If he isn’t going to trouble his shirt and do something about his points then he's simply going to search out himself getting longer and longer custodial sentences.
“He's a public hazard.”
Edwards will return to courtroom for sentencing on April 25.