A brazen thief with a 17-page criminal record walked free from court after a sheriff told him prison had not worked.
During 23 years of dishonesty, John Townsley has amassed a staggering record littered with offences of shoplifting, theft, housebreaking and fraud.
The one-man crimewave has been imprisoned for every offence since 2003, although his incarceration has done little to halt his offending.
His latest offence an attempted shoplifting saw him jailed for three months on January 8 this year.
And as he appeared from custody at Perth Sheriff Court on Tuesday to plead guilty to a new shoplifting charge, Sheriff Paul Reid said it was time to “try something different”.
The 41-year-old’s latest offence saw him steal car accessories from the Perth branch of Halfords before fitting them to his vehicle as stunned staff looked on.
Depute fiscal Robbie Brown told the court: “He was seen in the store by staff but they could not follow him due to other business. He then left the store, followed by staff who saw him fitting the accessories including chrome trim on to a car outside.”
Mr Brown said there had been full recovery of the items, valued at £33.67.
Townsley, of McDonald Court, Perth, admitted commmitting the theft on May 6.
Solicitor Cliff Culley said his client “appreciated that, in light of his extensive previous convictions”, the court would be considering a custodial sentence.
Sheriff Reid agreed, saying: “With your criminal record, you should be going directly to prison for a long time.”
He continued: “Your previous periods of imprisonment do not seem to have done anything to stop you, however, so I think that we will try something different.”
He deferred sentence until June 5 for reports, with a view to imposing a community disposal to enable Townsley to receive social work support.
As he left the dock, Sheriff Reid warned him: “If you commit any further offences while you are on bail then my hands will be tied and you will go to jail for a long time.”