A thief whose ill-gained goods included a charity collection and a stash of luxury honey has been ordered to complete unpaid work.
Shaun Kirwin appeared at Stirling Sheriff Court to be sentenced for his thievery, prepared with a bag for prison.
At previous hearings, Kirwin admitted pilfering a tin for collecting donations for second-hand books in Tesco, as well as a stash of high-end honey from Holland & Barrett.
Kirwin, who has offended before, was ordered to complete unpaid work and pay compensation for the charity collection.
Book collection raid
The court heard that in April, Kirwin went to Tesco in Dunblane and made off with the charity tin, located at the end of the checkouts where people were donating 50p for preowned books.
The proceeds were destined for local schools.
The prosecutor said: “The accused was seen in the store to pick up the charity tin and place it in a black drawstring bag.”
A year earlier, Kirwin raided a health food store, helping himself to bottles of Manuka honey, from the city’s Holland & Barrett.
He was was spotted on CCTV putting bottles worth £283.70 into a bag before leaving.
Manuka honey comes from nectar collected from Manuka shrubs which are indigenous to New Zealand.
The honey is considered a luxury superfood with health benefits and fetches high prices.
Kirwin’s solicitor said: “It’s the good honey that’s in Holland and Barrett.
“Mr Kirwin has committed these offences against a background of drug addiction.
“He has been doing relatively well, he has a support worker.
“He is in receipt of Universal Credit.”
Sentencing
54-year-old Kirwin, of Cowane Street in Stirling, pled guilty both thefts, while on bail from Stirling and Falkirk Sheriff Courts.
He spent almost a month on remand following the Dunblane theft, which Sheriff Mark O’Hanlon labelled “quite a serious matter”.
He imposed a year of supervision for each crime and ordered Kirwin to complete 147 hours of unpaid work and pay £100 compensation to Tesco.
Last year, Kirwin wound up in court after making threats while in possession of a hammer at Stirling Council’s homeless unit on Springkerse Road in 2021.
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