Man jailed after breaking into police station

A Man on bail who broke into an unmanned police station was caught cooking himself ravioli and cereal, a court has heard.

Oxgangs Police Station. Pic: Neil Hanna

Officers investigating an alarm at the empty Oxgangs Police Station building found a window had been smashed and someone had broken in.

On entering, they discovered 38-year old Lynton Frazer helping himself to a mixture of Ravioli, Weetabix and milk in a saucepan. He told them he had been hungry.

At Edinburgh Sheriff Court today Frazer, of Firrhill Park, Edinburgh, was jailed for three months, having previously admitted breaking into Oxgangs Police Station in the middle of the night and stealing food and milk on August 29, 2013.

Sentence had been deferred for reports. Frazer was on bail at the time.

Defence solicitor, John Good, told Sheriff Frank Crowe his client had an unwillingness to address his mental health difficulties and the use of legal highs.

“Through exasperation he often says ‘I am going to jail’. He sees this as some sort of short term treatment”.

Frazer, he added, had only six previous convictions, the last being seven or eight years ago. He had also been the subject of four hospital orders.

Mr Good said he had thought a Community Payback Order under supervision might show what could be done for his client, but the reports did not hold out much hope of his motivation to do that. “His life is just so chaotic” he added.

Sheriff Crowe said Frazer had said the aim of the break-in was deliberate to get arrested. Mr Good said his client went through periods of offending because of his concentrated use of legal highs and that attracted the attention of the police, but he added: “It is clear he does not want to go to prison”.

Jailing Frazer, Sheriff Crowe said it had been a “very troubling case”.

“All options have been considered in the Social Work report, including deferring sentence in the hope something would work” he said, but added: “I am not satisfied this is an option for the court.”

“The only answer is a prison sentence. Under that regime you can be seen by a psychiatrist and have medication. There is no other method in my view of dealing with this case”.