THE third of three Carlisle men who burgled a petrol station shop near the city has now been sentenced.
A rear door at the Hills premises, Corby Hill, was smashed in at around 11pm on February 7 last year. Police were called after the alarm was activated, and found that cigarettes, alcohol and scratch cards valued at around £1,800 had been snatched.
More loss was inflicted on the business as staff were forced to close to clean up damage caused during the break-in.
Three men later admitted burglary. One was handed a suspended prison sentence at Carlisle Crown Court last year, while a second was handed an immediate 21-month jail term which was reduced to a year on appeal.
However, the sentencing of the third, their 37-year-old partner-in-crime Grant Stewart, was repeatedly delayed. He had been injured after being hit by a car on the way to an earlier court hearing.
After receiving treatment, Stewart was finally punished at the crown court today (THURS) when Judge Andrew Jefferies QC heard how police had detained him following the burglary while he was trying to remove gloves which had been used during the offence.
However, Judge Jefferies also learned Stewart, of Harris Crescent, Carlisle, had been out of trouble since that incident, and was in work.
As a result, the judge suspended a 12-month prison sentence for a year.
