A drug addict who stole a range of expensive food and headphones from Elgin supermarkets to fund his habit while he was on bail was jailed yesterday.
Lee Fraser, of 25 Covesea Road in the town, embarked on his spate of thefts at the Co-operative, on Moray Drive, when he stole a packet of steaks on January 27.
Four days later, he stole £206.60 worth of steaks and other food from Marks and Spencer on Elgin’s High Street and £84.92 worth of meat from Asda on Edgar Road.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard yesterday that Fraser, 24, was on bail at the time following a separate incident on January 9.
At 2.58am, he sent his ex-girlfriend a threatening text under the influence of Valium, which read: “Well you and your lad’s dead. I promise you that.”
Later the same day, he was stopped by security guards at Tesco in Elgin for trying to steal two Beats headphone sets worth £538.90.
When police searched him, he handed over two rolls of blue tablets, which turned out to be 28 Diazepam, with a street value of £56.84.
Fraser had been given a community payback order (CPO) for his offences at an earlier hearing, however his lawyer Iain Maltman said he had failed to carry it out because he was focusing on finding a steady place to live.
Mr Maltman added that his client had committed the thefts to try to fund his heroin addiction.
Sheriff Raymond McMenamin said Fraser’s excuses were “feeble” and revoked his CPO before sentencing him to a total of 10-months imprisonment.
