A thug has been jailed for terrorising supermarket staff across Dundee while making off with hundreds of pounds.
Jon Williamson threatened workers in various stores, forced his way into Morrisons to steal booze and used his elderly aunt’s bank card without permission to take £500.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard Williamson’s crime sprees in 2022 and 2023 were triggered by a pernicious alcohol addiction.
“You pled guilty to a catalogue of serious offending split into two parts,” Sheriff Gregor Murray told the 31-year-old.
“As the Crown narrative very fully describes, the 2023 offences are aggravated by a series of features.
“They include the degree of premeditation, by perpetrating them at different venues in Dundee to maximise the chances of them succeeding, by the use of violence, by the presence and use of weapons.”
Tesco robbery
The court previously heard how Williamson, currently a prisoner in HMP Perth, made off with notes totalling hundreds from Tesco South Road and Asda Myrekirk.
Prosecutor Joanne Ritchie said of the Tesco incident: “The witness was serving a female customer.
“The accused approached the till and the accused leaned over the till and held the drawer open.
“He said something similar to ‘don’t say anything, I’ve got a bottle’.
“He grabbed a handful of notes, picked up a bottle and held it by the neck and calmly walked away.
“A supervisor was alerted and police were contacted.”
Further chaos
Williamson admitted stealing a bottle of alcohol from Asda Kirkton on June 20 2022 and on the same day, on Balgowan Avenue, he was involved in a stand-off with police who came close to tasering him.
He used the bank card to steal cash between February 10 and 11 2023 and the Tesco South Road robbery happened on February 13 that year.
On March 1 at Spar, Orleans Place, Williamson robbed a staff member of a bottle of wine after brandishing it at the man and demanding he open the till.
He stole the money from the till at Asda Myrekirk on March 8 and attempted to steal money during aggressive incidents on March 11 at the Premier store on Huntly Square and Spar Ballindean Road.
The break-in and booze thefts at Morrisons, Afton Way, occurred on June 5.
Jailed
Solicitor Alexandra Short said Williamson suffered a deterioration in his mental health due to the death of his mother.
He had last offended a decade ago and spent a period of time volunteering.
However, Ms Short said Williamson’s life “spiralled out of control” due to his drinking.
Sheriff Murray sentenced Williamson to 30 months in prison.
A supervised release order was also imposed which will run for one year once he is released from custody.
For more local court content visit our dedicated page or join us on Facebook.
