A Forfar man has been jailed for eight months for stealing a mobile phone from a nurse who had just treated him.
Brian Conway (28), of Nursery Road, was in tears and repeatedly apologised to his mother as he was led away in handcuffs to start the prison sentence on Thursday.
When Conway appeared before Sheriff Kevin Veal, he admitted that, on June 27, at a treatment room in Whitehills Hospital, he stole a mobile phone and committed the offence while on bail.
Sheriff Veal described the offence as “despicable”.
It emerged during depute fiscal Trina Sinclair’s narration of events that Conway missed his appointment and turned up later on the same day when the nurse agreed to treat him. Conway, who was said to have a “diazepam habit,” then went on to steal her phone.
Ms Sinclair said he had an appointment to treat an injured foot at 10am at Whitehills. Two and a half hours later, as the nurse was preparing to leave, he turned up and the nurse agreed to treat him. Her mobile phone was left sitting on a table in the treatment room.
The nurse spent 20 minutes treating Conway.
“Shortly after he left, she found her mobile phone had gone and she immediately telephoned the police and gave the details and a description of Conway,” said Ms Sinclair.
The officers carried out a street search and at about 1.45pm they found Conway in Academy Street, Forfar, and searched him.
Conway said, “Here it is,” and handed over the phone, which was later identified by the nurse. He told the officers he was really sorry and wanted to apologise to the nurse.
Defence solicitor Bob Bruce said his client was addicted to diazepam. The theft of the phone was “opportunistic,” and Conway took full responsibility for his actions.
Sheriff Veal said, “I regard the theft of a telephone from a nurse within a treatment room of a hospital as a particularly serious matter, aggravated when I learn the accused had been granted bail on three separate matters within a month of this offence.
“The accused was on three deferred sentences at the time and he has 23 previous convictions and was also on probation. The circumstances of these offences are such that a substantial sentence of custody cannot be avoided.”