A heroin addict who stole more than £12,000 from his grandmother and spent it all on drugs was sent to prison for two years at Perth Sheriff Court for his “despicable” crimes.
The court heard Garry Gannon’s habit cost him £30-40 per day to feed.
“I am riddled with guilt over this. It’s just greed,” 35-year-old Gannon of Brahan Terrace, Perth, told police.
“I just want my granny to know I am sorry. I am not going to be able to tell her myself.”
Gannon admitted that on October 31 he stole a bank card from a house in Perth, and between that date and December 28 at Morrisons, St Catherine’s Retail Park, and at other shops in Perth, he used the card at cash machines and stole £12,269.62.
He further admitted that between October 31 and January 14 at the house in Perth he stole two rings.
Depute fiscal Alan Kempton said the victim, the accused’s grandmother, was 75 years old.
“She is vulnerable, suffers from dementia and is very frail although she is able to reside in her own flat with help from family members,” he said.
One of the stolen rings was the woman’s late husband’s ring.Illegal transactionsShe received a letter from the bank that she showed to her daughter, Gannon’s aunt, and it transpired her bank account showed transactions made illegally using the bank card.
Police reviewed CCTV footage, which showed Gannon using the card.
On searching his home they found a pawn receipt related to a ring belonging to his grandmother and another ring belonging to her husband, who died last year.
Worth a total of £300, the rings were recovered.
Defence solicitor Billy Somerville said his client was employed and lived with his girlfriend. He had difficulties with heroin in the past but “managed to turn his life around.”
Unfortunately, he met someone he used to know and accepted that he “went off the rails.”
Mr Somerville said the money had not been used for any purpose other than buying drugs.
He added there was a suggestion Gannon had inherited some money following the death of his grandfather, and the solicitor asked that sentence be deferred while this possibility was investigated with a view to him making restitution.
However, Sheriff Michael Fletcher said there was no question of dealing with him in any way apart from a custodial sentence.
“This is a despicable crime involving as it did a vulnerable lady,” the sheriff told him.