Mansfield i-phone thief downing 272 alcohol units a week

A Mansfield thief was downing 272 units of alcohol a week when he smashed a car window with a brick and stole an i-phone, a court heard.
News from the courtsNews from the courts
News from the courts

Paul Priest had been drinking “all day” before he took the i-phone in Mansfield and sold it for £30, on May 13, said Anna Pierrepont, prosecuting.

Priest, 39, of Tideswell Court, admitted theft when he appeared before magistrates in Mansfield, on Thursday.

The court heard he had a “lengthy record of previous convictions”, with substance misuse linked to his offending, and there had been a pattern of swapping one kind of drug for another in the past.

He is now drug free, but was drinking around 272 units of alcohol per week.

Abbey Edwards, mitigating, said Priest began smoking cannabis aged 15, and by 16 he was addicted to heroin and crack cocaine.

“This is the first time he has been free from them for longer than a week,” she said.

“He has been free since January this year, because he is in a stable relationship with a woman who is a very good influence on him.”

The court heard the couple were expecting a child in September.

“Hopefully with the help of an alcohol treatment requirement he can get off the alcohol,” said Ms Edwards.

A community order, which finishes in October, was revoked, and a new 12 month order was imposed, which includes a six month alcohol treatment programme and ten activity days.

A curfew was also imposed for three months, from 7pm to 7am.

He must pay £200 compensation, but no order for costs was made because of his means.

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