A shoplifter caught stealing a £425 jacket from Sports Direct pulled a Stanley knife on staff – and then later smeared faeces all over a police cell.
Colin Grant was spotted nicking the pricey CP Company jacket from Sports Direct on Berryden Road in Aberdeen on October 30 last year.
But when staff tried to stop him from leaving, the 41-year-old father-of-two struggled with them and whipped out a Stanley knife.
He managed to get away on that occasion but was picked up by police a few days later and hauled into the cells at the station – where he made his dirty protest.
Fiscal depute Brian Young told Aberdeen Sheriff Court a Sports Direct employee spotted Grant and another male “acting suspiciously”.
Grant was walking around the shop carrying a CP Company jacket while the other male tried to distract a staff member by asking questions.
Grant then hid the jacket inside his own jacket before walking towards the exit without paying.
Two members of staff challenged him at the front door and Grant responded by shouting: “I don’t have anything, you can’t touch me.”
‘There are two issues – one is the drugs, one is mental health’
He then tried to run away but was grabbed by the staff who attempted to escort him back inside.
A struggle ensued one of the employees managed to retrieve the stolen jacket.
Grant then pulled out a Stanley knife and the staff, although noting the blade was not extended, released their grip on him.
Mr Young told the court: “The accused held the knife in his right hand and started backing away whilst saying ‘you’ll regret this’.
“The other male shouted ‘it’s not worth it, come on Colin, let’s go’ before they both ran away.”
Grant was later traced, arrested and taken to Kittybrewster station.
While within the police cell, Grant was “shouting, swearing and smeared his own faeces on the walls and door”.
Grant admitted charges of theft by shoplifting, possession of a knife and two charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
‘His behaviour in the cells, that’s never happened before’
Defence agent Graham Morrison said: “There’s a drug background to this, as with just about every one of Mr Grant’s convictions.
“There are two issues – one is the drugs, one is mental health. What came first is a chicken and egg situation.”
The lawyer explained Grant had been drug-free for a period but lost his tenancy, became homeless and fell back into drug use.
He said Grant turned to stealing to fund the drug habit, and had only produced the Stanley knife “to make good his escape”.
Mr Morrison added: “His behaviour in the cells, that’s never happened before.
“He puts that down to his mental health.”
Sheriff Andrew Miller jailed Grant, a prisoner of HMP Grampian, for 24 months.
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