Homeless man begged his grandmother to 'get him arrested' to get locked up, court is told

Sean Scotter, 31, deliberately breached a court-imposed restraining order by going to her Houghton-le-Spring home from where he was banned.

She answered his plea after much soul-searching and called the police on Friday, January 22, magistrates in South Tyneside heard.

Desperate Scotter also stole £20 of meat from a butchers shop, putting him in breach of a suspended prison sentence.

He stole four joints from the McMurchie outlet in Caroline Street, Houghton-le-Spring, on Tuesday, March 23, when the owner’s back was turned.

Scooter has been jailed for 24 weeks after magistrates activated his suspended sentence in full.

Prosecutor Stewart Haywood said: “The defendant attended his grandmother’s address.

“He was standing in the garden, and he approached the window. He then left in the direction of Meadow Street.

“The police were contacted, and he was arrested. He made no reply when questioned.”

Mr Haywood added: “The defendant attended the butchers and asked for a sandwich.

“When Mr McMurchie turned back around he noticed that four joints of meat had been stolen from the counter.

“He reviewed CCTV, and the defendant was arrested. He said that he needed food in order to survive.”

Paul McAlindon, defending Scotter, who has 29 previous convictions, said: “He is allowed contact with his grandmother, but he is precluded from entering her street.

“For some time, Mr Scotter has been homeless, that’s the crux of the offences.

“The offence with his grandmother was because he was homeless, sofa-surfing and living rough.

“He got to the stage where he was getting desperate, it was bad weather.

“He said, ‘Get me arrested’. At first she was reluctant but then the police were contacted.

“If he wasn’t homeless he wouldn’t have had to contact his grandmother and ask her to get him locked up.

“He took the meat to eat and also to sell some for funds. It’s a low level shop theft.”

The court heard Scotter, of no fixed abode, was jailed for eight months in February last year, and for 12 weeks in September for burglary and shop theft.

On November 20, he was handed a 24-week sentence, suspended for a year, for possession of a bladed article.

At his latest court appearance, Scotter was also handed a six-day prison term for breaching the restraining order, to run concurrently.

There was no separate penalty for the shop theft but Scotter must pay the retailer £20 compensation.

The court heard it will be added to the £2,100 he owes in fines and other penalties.

Scooter also admitted breaching his bail by failing to attend South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, March 20, for which there was no separate penalty.

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