Newtownabbey man attempted to steal an EpiPen, cannulas and a stethoscope during hospital visit
A visitor at Antrim Area Hospital tried to steal an EpiPen, cannulas and a stethoscope.
The defendant admitted attempted theft on March 27 this year. He was also in possession of diazepam.
A prosecutor told Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena, police received a report of theft from an "emergency ward" at the hospital.
Staff told police the defendant had been "waiting with his partner in the ward for the last 24 hours".
A staff member overheard the defendant saying he had "taken stuff from the doctors" and she believed he had "medical supplies on his person".
When spoken to by police the defendant was "acting erratically" and when he was searched cannulas, an EpiPen, stethoscope and six strips of diazepam were found.
Craig John Adair (36), of Doagh Road, Newtownabbey, made full admissions saying the items "were just sitting there" and claimed he was "taking the medical equipment for when he left the hospital to treat his partner".
A defence barrister said the defendant has been "struggling with addiction issues".
District Judge Nigel Broderick asked: "Did he get bored just and decide to steal things?"
The barrister said: "No, I think he was just struggling to cope with everything that had been going on."
The defendant was in breach of a suspended sentence.
Judge Broderick said the defendant had "placed his liberty very much in jeopardy" but the fact that "these items, important as they are in a hospital, thankfully were recovered" meant tas an alternative to jail he was handing down 120 hours of Community Service.