Lincoln attempted robber jailed for skipping drug appointments

A man who was given a chance by a judge after attempting to hold up a convenience store has been jailed after he failed to turn up for drug appointments.

Matthew Dobbyn was given a suspended jail sentence back in April for the attempted robbery of the Premier Store on Newport in Lincoln.

Since then he failed on four occasions to turn up for appointments with the substance misuse agency Addaction.

Stuart Lody, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court that Dobbyn was unable to give a reasonable excuse on any of the occasions.

Mr Lody said the suspended jail sentence was imposed on April 4 when Dobbyn was also given a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 40 days.

“He basically has not complied. The conclusion of those doing their best for him is that he is unmanageable and the order cannot continue.”

Dobbyn, 22, of no fixed address, admitted breach of his suspended jail sentence. He was sent to prison for nine months.

Judge Simon Hirst, passing sentence, told Dobbyn: “I understand things are difficult for you. All of the reports talk about your problems with drugs. They exacerbate your mental health problems. Ultimately only you can decide whether you stop taking drugs or not.”

The court was told that Dobbyn was originally sentenced for attempted robbery of the Premier Store on Newport in Lincoln.

He walked into the shop and produced what appeared to be a gun although the shopkeeper did not think it was real. The shopkeeper told Dobbyn to go away but Dobbyn then offered to sell him the gun for £100 before he left.

Michael Cranmer-Brown, for Dobbyn, said: “He suffers from ADHD and is on the autism spectrum. It is very sad to see this young man in this condition. He doesn’t have a long history of offending.

“He has difficulties in his relationship with his mother. She has found his behaviour too difficult to cope with.

“Her home is now empty and boarded up. He doesn’t know where she has gone. To make matters worse his father has died in the last few days.

“He has got a lot of problems in his life. He has been sleeping rough and has had great difficulty coping with day to day existence without resorting to drug misuse. It is a vicious circle.

“As far as he is concerned prison is not the right place for him. He considers himself to be very seriously mentally unwell. He considers himself to be more unwell than the doctors say.”