A man caught with a knife in Paisley has been jailed for a year.
Steven Thomson had the weapon in his possession on April 21, 2020 in the town’s Renfrew Road.
He was on bail at the time of the offence.
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The 47 year old’s defence agent James Arroll told Paisley Sheriff Court that his client was the subject of a Drug Treatment and Testing Order at the time, but the covid pandemic had “started to take hold” and support was unavailable.
Mr Arroll said: “He was not being tested and it’s clear he fell back into what was chaotic drug use”.
But the defence told how his client has “made great strides” in the time since, adding: “Two years have passed and in that time he has done very well”.
He said Thomson, of Renfrew Road, had committed other offences which were “of a minor nature”.
The agent said a progress report on Thomson’s Drug Treatment and Testing Order was “very positive” and added that he was “continuing to build some good progress”.
Mr Arroll continued: “He has come a long way to the point where he was subject to a fairly serious assault, in days gone by his coping mechanism for that would be to fall back into drug misuse.
“That does not appear to have happened and that is to his credit, that perhaps shows he has come a long way in the last two years.”
He said Thomson was “sober and presenting well”.
Thomson was also the subject of a lengthy period restricting his liberty from 2020 and had not breached it, his agent said.
The defence argued for Thomson to avoid a jail term, saying he had “the ability” to undertake a period of unpaid work and had been assessed as “suitable”.
Mr Arroll added: “There are a number of options open to the court which do not result in custody”, adding: “Your Lordship can be satisfied that the public can be protected and Mr Thomson can be punished by the imposition of a Community Payback Order.”
But Sheriff Tom McCartney disagreed with the agent.
Jailing Thomson for 12 months, the lawman said: “I take into account all the facts placed before me by Mr Arroll in considering sentence.
"However, my conclusion is that the nature of the offence - having with you a knife while subject to two bail orders - combined with your record of previous convictions, requires the imposition of a custodial sentence.”
The Sheriff said three months of Thomson’s sentence was imposed in relation to the bail aggravations.
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