A drug addict who stole £3,000 from a St Albans pub has been sentenced to nearly a year in prison.
Hugh Docherty, a 43-year-old father of seven, was convicted of four thefts earlier this month and was sentenced at St Albans Magistrates’ Court on Monday (27).
His 48 weeks in custody comes alongside 64 weeks of concurrent sentences for another charge of theft and community order breaches mentioned in the pre-sentence report.
Docherty, who has been living with family in Cotlandswick, London Colney, stole £3,000 from the Cock Inn, St Albans, on June 29 after taking a wallet from a gaming shop in London Colney earlier that morning.
The court heard that Docherty had stolen the money from an office in the pub after an accountant left it on the desk while she spoke to her father.
The accountant saw Docherty leave the office and then she, her father and another witness chased him down Hatfield Road.
Sadaf Etemadi, prosecuting, said that Docherty was dropping the money as he was running but all of it was later recovered.
The defendant, who has a lengthy criminal record, was also facing theft charges regarding two incidents in Watford on June 24 and 26 and the incident in London Colney that morning.
During the pre-sentence hearing the court heard about another theft at DDD Limited, in Watford on June 25 and several community order breeches.
Docherty was ordered to pay court costs and compensation to the value of £320, which he will pay on his release.
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