A MAN who took part in an armed robbery at a post office to clear a drugs debt has been jailed for eight years.
Kevin Sloan, 28, and another man burst into the shop in Newton Mearns, East Renfrew-shire, and threatened the postmistress with a shotgun.
He was caught after he left behind his driving licence and rental agreement for the getaway van he had hired.
At the High Court in Edinburgh, his defence counsel Ian Duguid, QC, said Sloan, who is from Paisley, Renfrewshire, had got into debt with another man over his use of cocaine.
He said the theft at the RS McColl branch in Mearns Road on November 2 last year was apparently to help him clear the debt.
Judge John Morris told Sloan the offences to which he had pled guilty merited a substantial period in prison, not just to punish him but to deter others.
Sloan earlier admitted that, while acting with another, he robbed postmistress Marion McKellar of £5705 and €2351 at the post office by pointing a shotgun at her and threatening to shoot her.
He also pled guilty to assaulting Denise Hay by presenting the gun at her and threatening her with violence and to discharging the gun and causing serious damage to the post office door.
The court heard that Sloan and the other man, wearing masks, entered the shop shortly after 9am.
The Post Office section was behind a secure glass screen and a locked door. The lock was blasted off and while Sloan held the gun, the other man grabbed the money from drawers. The robbers made off in a van which was later abandoned.
Sloan, however, left behind his photo ID driving licence, the van rental agreement, and his mask, which was found to have his DNA on it as well as shotgun residue.
Mr Duguid told the court Sloan had got into debt with another man over his use of cocaine.
He said: "It was suggested he could clear this debt by becoming involved in the robbery of this Post Office and was presented with a shotgun."
He said Sloan had hired the van in his own name and licence. He had thought it was for moving furniture or goods for someone else. The trail of evidence left behind in the van led to Sloan being traced easily, said his QC.
Mr Duguid said Sloan only had two previous convictions – a breach of the peace when he was 18 and one of driving without insurance. His last job had been as a landscape gardener.
He added: "The problem has been a mounting debt for cocaine. It was suggested his mother be approached for the money, but he refused to let his mother be involved in this. It is the sole explanation why he became involved."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article