Police turned up while burglar was in the shop

SHOPKEEPERS have been given an assurance that the courts will protect them from drug addicts who target them. The message came from Lt-Bailiff Russell Finch as he jailed burglar Daniel Steer for 18 months in the Royal Court yesterday.

'Drugs are ruining your life,' Mr Finch told him. 'Shopkeepers should not expect to suffer because of your drug problem.

'You present a risk of further offending that is significant, but on the facts of this case we need to make it clear that commercial premises will be properly protected by the courts.'

Unemployed Steer, 21, who admitted being a regular drug user, said he had drunk 10 cans of beer and taken sedatives during the day before burgling Fresh Fill, opposite Elizabeth College in the Grange, on 21 July.

But police were alerted by someone who heard the sound of breaking glass and who was watching 15 to 20 minutes later as Steer went into the shop through the window.

When officers arrived, he was still inside.

He ran off without the carrier bag full of items he had taken, but was caught soon after.

Advocate David Domaille, for Steer, who pleaded guilty, claimed that his client had not broken the window, but this was considered implausible by the court.

Steer had climbed head first through it, wearing socks over his hands.

CCTV cameras caught him taking '142 in notes and coins from the till, 73 lottery scratchcards and tobacco and cigarettes, worth '372 in total.

A police officer recognised Steer, who was crouching behind a counter. When a torch was shone through the broken window, Steer escaped through an open rear kitchen one into a courtyard and through private gardens.

He threw off the socks and lost his training shoes. After being chased, he was apprehended minus his footwear. It took four officers to restrain him as he struggled violently.

He told police that he could not remember what had happened.

'The last thing I recall was walking into Town alone at approximately 11pm. I do not remember anything after that time until I was woken about 10.30am in the police custody cells.'

Analysis of a urine sample taken on the afternoon after the offence detected the presence of benzodiazepine ' a family of drugs to which the sedative, diazepam, belongs.

No other drugs or alcohol were detected.

Steer had once described diazepam as 'an escape from reality' to control his life.

The court was told that burglary carried a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

'Burglary of a dwelling house is more serious than the burglary of commercial premises and would attract a markedly higher starting-point,' said Mr Finch.

'But burglary of shops is a prevalent offence in Guernsey and is something that causes inconvenience and misery to people trying to make a living.

'Our duty is to protect premises in Guernsey from violation.'

In mitigation, Advocate Domaille said: 'He cannot cope in society. He finds prison a safe place.'

A probation report suggested the offence was related to Steer's continued use of substances, the thought processes leading to drug misuse and the effect it had on his subsequent decision-making.

He had numerous previous convictions and was also in breach of a probation order.

On release, he will be subject to compulsory supervision by the Probation Service for the remainder of his sentence.

Advocate Domaille said Steer was now drug free voluntarily and wished to change his lifestyle and perhaps move away from the island.