A serial shoplifter has been warned that one more offence will land him behind bars.
Ian Wilcox appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday, where he admitted three charges of stealing alcohol from the town’s Asda on Edgar Road.
The 37-year-old stole a total of £163 worth of drink, including lager, whisky and liqueur between March 30 and May 31.
Yesterday Sheriff John Halley warned the serial offender that unless he changed his ways, “enough would be enough” and he would be imprisoned.
Solicitor Stephen Carty said Wilcox, of 79 North Port in Elgin, struggled to explain why he committed the offences.
He added: “Perhaps he had consumed an amount of alcohol, and in his drunken state he saw an opportunity to steal these items and took it.
“He accepts his responsibility for the thefts.”
Referencing Wilcox’s long history of shoplifting offences, exasperated Sheriff John Halley told the man: “You have to realise that at some point the court is going to say ‘enough is enough’ and you will have to stop this or be locked up.”
However, he gave him one last chance and ordered him to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. He also put him under supervision for a year, during which time he is to address his alcohol use and shoplifting habit.
