A drug addict from Brighton has been jailed for nine months after he admitted stealing from two shops in the town centre to feed his habit.
Anthony Coombes, 42, of Essex Place, Brighton, had spent 30 years addicted to class A drugs, his barrister Sarah Thorne, told Brighton Crown Court.
Coombes was in breach of a suspended prison sentence and a conditional discharge when he appeared before Judge Roger Chapple yesterday (Friday 3 November).
He was charged with the breaches and three counts of theft as well as a refusal to have blood test for drugs after his arrest.
Piers Reed, prosecuting, said that Coombes had twice targeted the White Company as well as stealing a Dyson hairdryer from the nearby Boots in North Street.
Mr Reed said that he was arrested thanks to the city centre ambassadors employed by Brilliant Brighton, which represents traders in the central business improvement district.
Coombes admitted stealing to feed his addiction to heroin. He had also spent years in the grip of a crack cocaine addiction, the court was told.
Mrs Thorne said that Coombes had a long record of offending and “a terrible class A drug habit”.
She said: “He tells me that he has been addicted to heroine and crack cocaine for nearly 30 years.
“There are times when he has been in remission but mostly he has been in the grip of a terrible addiction.”
He had managed to stay clean for the past month, with the help of heroin substitute methadone, and he was working with those who could help him.
Mrs Thorne said that he had had a big wake up call in the past year with a cancer diagnosis – and he had lost his twin brother to a drug-related death.
She said: “He has been completely drug free … He realises that if he doesn’t change his lifestyle … then he’s going to be going nowhere other than the cemetery.”
She added that he had somewhere to live on his release from prison and would receive support to stay clean from drugs.
The judge said: “You’ve pleaded guilty to another three offences of shoplifting – one of them committed while on bail – and it’s the umpteenth time you’ve done this.
“The courts have tried to help you.
“I know you’ve had a chance to think about things.
“You can’t carry on like this or you’ll be dead.”
Poor man. I hope he can find the inner strength as well as support from others to change his way of life at this late stage.