Jail for man with long-term alcohol-related problems

Jail for man with long-term alcohol-related problems

Kevin McKeown appeared in the Royal Court on Friday to be sentenced for the two public order offences.

Crown Advocate Emma Hollywood, prosecuting, told the court that while the charges were minor, McKeown’s recent offending put him in breach of orders imposed on him in February when he pleaded guilty to five charges, the most serious being illegal entry and larceny.

While the Crown had asked for a 15-month jail sentence at that point, the 40-year-old was given a ‘last chance’ and warned that if he offended again, he would face prison.

Outlining the case, Advocate Hollywood said that ten weeks later, McKeown appeared in the Magistrate’s Court after being found drunk and incapable in the doorway of a fancy dress shop. He was fined £250 at that time.

McKeown offended again on 15 June when his partner had to call the police when he refused to leave her flat.

‘Officers gave the defendant a number of opportunities to show he was capable of looking after himself, but after every few steps he stumbled into the wall or towards the road,’ she said.

He was again arrested and when he appeared at the Magistrate’s Court on the following Monday, the Solicitor General requested that the matter be referred to the higher court. McKeown was given conditional bail.

But on 18 July, McKeown was again arrested for being drunk and incapable after a member of the public alerted the police about a man who was passed out on a bench in the People’s Park.

The defendant has a lengthy record of previous offences related to alcohol and had undertaken detox regimes on 20 occasions, Advocate Hollywood said, including a three-month rehabilitation programme at Silkworth Lodge.

The Crown asked that the court impose a sentence of one month on each charge to run concurrently.

However, Advocate James Bell, defending, urged the court to allow McKeown to remain outside the prison system, saying that there were still treatment options open to him.

Advocate Bell said the Glasgow-born defendant was in the best personal position he had been in for years, as he was no longer homeless and was close to securing employment.

But Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq said the court had exercised leniency in February. ‘We took into account signs that you were tackling your issues with alcohol,’ he said, adding that the court had warned him in the ‘strongest possible terms’.

The Deputy Bailiff said jurats Jane Ronge and Rozanne Thomas were split on sentencing and that he had had the casting vote to send McKeown to prison.

‘We do not think you have given us any choice,’ he said.

McKeown was sentenced to one month on each count of being drunk and incapable and a total of eight months for the breach offences.

The Deputy Bailiff urged the visibly shaken McKeown to take advantage of treatment available at La Moye Prison.

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