An Angus man was jailed for 10 months at Arbroath Sheriff Court yesterday after being found guilty of breaking into his father’s house.
Alan Reid, 25, of Newton Crescent, Arbroath, and co-accused Billy Allan Kilburn, 31, of Stoneycroft Lane, Arbroath, were found guilty at trial of breaking into Reid’s father’s home on June 28 2012 and stealing a laptop, a key safe, miscellaneous documents and £10,410 in cash.
Reid’s defence agent Sarah Russo said he still maintained he was not guilty of the offence but admitted that he had problems with his father, Ian, in the past.
She added that he had gained employment and asked Sheriff Peter Paterson to consider a community payback order (CPO) as an alternative to custody.
She said: “Reid has recently completed offshore training and has obtained employment offshore which would allow him to pay compensation.
“He is under no illusion that he faces the possibility of a custodial sentence today and this would impact on his employment.
“He has misused drugs in the past but he has not used cannabis for the past four weeks and the background report says he is suitable for a community payback order.”
Kilburn’s defence agent Keith Sym said his client did not benefit financially from the robbery, that he had not entered the home and noted that he had successfully completed a community payback order of unpaid work in the past.
Sheriff Paterson agreed Kilburn deserved to be treated differently from Reid as he had merely served as a “lookout”.
He said: “You have proved that you are able to complete a CPO in the past and I sentence you to 250 hours of unpaid work.”
Turning to Reid, Sheriff Paterson described his record as being of a “different calibre”.
He said: “You were convicted of fraud in January 2012 and given a custodial disposal which appears to have had no effect on you.
“Three people testified that you were involved in this crime but you still are not accepting your guilt. I have no alternative but to impose a custodial sentence of 10 months.”