A DUMBARTON man charged who stole more than £700 worth of prescription drugs from a pharmacy last summer has avoided a jail sentence.

John Garvey, previously of Sutherland Drive and now of Dumbarton Road, took the £731.36 in drugs and money from Vanity Pharmaceuticals in Greenhead Road, Dumbarton, On August 17.

He was on bail at the time from the day before, when he had breached a court order to stay at home in the evenings, and from the month before when he shouted and swore and struggled with police at various locations, including Clydebank police office and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

At Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week, Garvey’s defence solicitor, Tom Brown, said his client had been assessed as unsuitable for a drug treatment and testing order.

He added: “He understands how close he is to a custodial sentence today.”

Sheriff Maxwell Hendry imposed a series of punishments across the three incidents instead of prison. They included a community payback order with 12 months of supervision and 120 hours of unpaid work within six months.

He was also given a curfew to stay home between 7pm and 7am for the next four months.

And sentence on the third crime was deferred for him to be of good behaviour, with Sheriff Hendry ordering Garvey to return to court on June 5 so his progress can be checked.

The sheriff added prison would be almost inevitable if there were any “bad reports” on Garvey going forward.