Ballymena: Man once jailed in connection with 'man in bin' incident now receives prison sentence for stealing money from Milanos Restaurant tip jar

Roddy Patterson (38), with an address given as no fixed abode in Ballymena, stole cash from Milanos Restaurant at Thomas Street in the town on April 17 this year.

Also on April 17 he stole vodka and whiskey wroth £113 from Asda Express at Ballymena's Broughshane Street.

On April 18 he stole alcohol and food worth £14 from the Asda Express; was disorderly behaviour at the shop; assaulted a police officer; and stole £6 worth of goods from another shop.

He appeared at Antrim Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena, via video link from prison.

The court heard Milanos had not been open to the public when the defendant entered after 9.20am. CCTV showed him in the restaurant three times within a number of minutes.

He stole coins and notes from a tip jar. It was estimated he had taken between £40 – £100.

Later that day he stole £113 of alcohol from Asda.

He returned to Asda the next day, taking rum and food worth £14. He had also gone to a shop in the Fairhill shopping centre and "made a Pot Noodle and a coffee" and took a bag of crisps and a can of drink.

Police were at Asda dealing with Patterson's earlier matters when he returned. When arrested he began shouting and kicked empty boxes. He kicked an officer.

A defence barrister said the offences in April had happened after Patterson got out of jail following a previous sentence.

He said Patterson was a drug addict and after having a relapse he had "no memory" of what he had done in April.

He had been on remand since April. The defendant, who had 70 previous convictions, has now been given a five months prison sentence.

In 2015, Patterson and another man were each sentenced to three-and-a-half years for imprisoning a man who was found naked and battered in a taped-up wheelie bin in Ballymena in September 2013.

They both had pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm and false imprisonment. A woman was also sentenced for her role.

In sentencing, a judge said the victim had been left suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He said the victim truly believed he was going to die when he was left in a bin, unable to see and with limited air to breathe.

The judge said this was clearly meant to "punish, humiliate and demean" the man. He said if he had not been found, the consequences could have been far worse.

Earlier hearings were told the man was only found by chance, when a dog sniffed out the bin, which was propped up against a tree in dense undergrowth and sealed with parcel tape at Sentry Hill in Ballymena.

The pet's barking alerted its owner who then rang the emergency services.

The attack happened after Patterson and others had taken part in a drink and drugs binge over 72 hours.