A thief who stole cash and other items from two Kingussie hotels was jailed for six months at Inverness Sheriff Court yesterday.
Sentence had been earlier deferred on Jason Cochrane who was already on a drug treatment testing order (DTTO).
But Sheriff Margaret Neilson told Cochrane: “There is no appropriate sentence other than a custodial one because of your long record of offending. You were on a DTTO at the time and this was a gross breach of the court’s trust. ”
The 24-year-old, of Badenoch House, High Street, Kingussie, admitted stealing £120 from the Silverfjord Hotel on February 19 and £285 from the Star Hotel on February 21. He also stole a packet of cigarettes, a set of keys, cash from a charity tub and tools from there.
He also pleaded guilty to illegally possessing cannabis in his home and struggling with police officers in Burnett Road Police Station in Inverness after he was arrested,
Depute fiscal Kelly Mitchell told the court that Cochrane went into the kitchen of the Silverfjord Hotel at 11.25pm and there was an employee present who presumed that he was also a member of staff.
She added: “He said he had been sent by a friend to work there for the day.”
Cash boxes which were normally kept in a cupboard were later discovered on top of a freezer and money was missing. Cochrane was identified from CCTV footage.
At the Star Hotel on the evening of February 20 a guest saw Cochrane acting suspiciously going behind a reception desk then leaving through the front door.
At 7.30am the following morning a member of staff found an office door had been opened and CCTV footage from 9.30pm the previous evening recorded Cochrane entering the lobby.
He went behind the desk and cash was later discovered stolen from a cash box and a charity tub. A packet of cigarettes and a claw hammer were also missing.
