A drug addict who carried out a campaign of shoplifting at supermarkets across Aberdeen has been described as a “menace to shopkeepers”.
John Prosser targeted mainly meat and Blu-ray discs totalling more than £1,000 from supermarkets in Dyce, Bridge of Don and Bucksburn.
During July 2019 alone he made off with £709 worth of electronics – including a DVD player, Blu-rays, DVDs and computer accessories – on almost weekly visits to Asda in Riverview Road and Tesco in Laurel Drive.
The 42-year-old appears to have then lain low for a year until he began stealing meat almost monthly from the Co-op in Bucksburn’s Stoneywood Road.
Failed to pay for his monthly meat shop
Each month, between September and December 2020, he made off with food, but mostly meat, worth between £30 and £100.
Defence agent Iain Hingston told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that the shoplifting campaign was a “fairly shocking course of conduct”.
He told Sheriff Peter Grant-Hutchison: “Mr Prosser is the most disappointed in himself. He knows of the court’s powers today and he has arrived here on time and completely sober.”
He said personal circumstances in 2019 led him to “spiral” out of control and become reliant on drugs.
Mr Hingston added: “Loneliness, depression and drugs are to blame for the campaign against the Co-op store in Stoneywood Road.”
Sheriff Grant-Hutchison described Prosser as a “positive menace to the shopkeepers”.
He told him: “Your record is heading very much in the direction of another period in custody – and probably a very lengthy period.
“But your solicitor has given a very eloquent argument to avoid that and you are assisted by a very good social work report.”
‘This is almost your last chance’
Prosser admitted the offences in May.
He sentenced Prosser, of Belrorie Circle, Dyce, to a one-year community payback and supervision order and 60 hours of unpaid work to be carried out over the next 12 months.
“I hope you understand this is a direct alternative to a fairly lengthy period of imprisonment,” he added. “This is almost your last chance.”
