A DRUG addict has been jailed after he was found to be in breach of a suspended sentence for breaking into a Droitwich Spa shop.
Richard Howlett, of no fixed address, had a history of shoplifting and of breaching community orders, Worcester Crown Court was told.
Tariq Shakoor, prosecuting, said the 29-year-old was given a 36 week suspended sentence for breaking into Treasure Trove in Droitwich, stealing goods worth £3,050 and causing £2,000 damage. He also admitted shoplifting from Co-op stores in Plymouth just over a week after he was released from prison in Exeter in May this year and was in breach of two earlier community orders.
He had also broken into the Kingdom Hall in Rubery in September, 2009, and damaged doors, windows and a collection box. He told police he was looking for somewhere to sleep.
Sophie Lomas, defending, said Howlett had run his own business until a relationship breakdown launched him into a life of drug addiction and crime. She said he was now making efforts in prison to cut his methadone prescription and to enrol on educational courses. His parents had offered him a home on his release from jail, she said.
Judge Alistair McCreath said Howlett had found the number of community orders and suspended sentences he had been given difficult to deal with.
He jailed Howlett for a total of 47 weeks for breaching the suspended sentence and two community orders and for the shoplifting offences.
The judge told him that when he was released, he could make a clean start. The sentence will be reduced by the 68 days he has spent in custody.
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