A man described as "a promising young footballer" before injury and medication led him into drug abuse is facing jail - after stealing a mobile from from a fellow patient in hospital.
Edward Johnston's conduct was branded "particularly callous" by a sheriff.
Falkirk Sheriff Court heard Johnston had been noticed by staff Forth Valley Royal Hospital "wandering around and entering numerous cubicles" while he waiting to be clinically assessed, on December 6th 2020, and had been told to get back into his own cubicle.
But it emerged he had gone into the cubicle of one female patient, asked to borrow money for a bus fare, and inquired if she had a mobile phone, before stealing it when she went to the toilet.
He then discharged himself.
Police went to his then home in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, to speak to him about the incident, and while they were in his flat they dialled the number of the stolen mobile.
It rang and was found on a table.
Johnston, 33, now said to be living in North Lanarkshire, pleaded guilty to theft, and further admitted possessing £80 worth of cocaine and £30 diazepam.
He also admitted a bank fraud persuading the Lloyds TSB bank to transfer £454 from the account of his former partner, Nicole Gentleman, 27, into his own account, three days after the young mother "tragically" died in February 2021, from taking Johnston's methadone.
Prosecutor Danielle McDonald said he was caught after staff at the bank in Falkirk spotted a Facebook post about Nicole's death, recalled seeing money from her account being transferred into Johnston's, and realising this had happened after Nicole had passed away.
The court heard that Johnston had acted with an unknown female accomplice in the fraud. The female, who had a Scottish accent, phoned a TSB cashier, pretended she was Nicole, said she had lost her bank card, and asked for all the money in her account to be transferred to Johnston's.
The court heard, however, that Johnston and Nicole had operated their accounts in tandem when she was alive, pooling their resources.
Solicitor Elaine Rae, defending, said: "Mr Johnston began opiate misuse following the prescription some years ago of painkillers following a footballing injury.
"As I understand it years ago he was a very promising young footballer.
"Perhaps somewhat unusually his drug addiction has never been heroin. It started from the prescription of dihydrocodeine, into using illicit dihydrocodeine, and it escalated into a pattern of poly drug use."
Miss Rae said that following the death of Johnston's partner he had been subject to "abuse".
She said: "She was a young mother -- it couldn't have been more tragic."
Referring to the bank fraud, Miss Rae said: "He was looking to get some of his own money back from her account, but he took more than he was due."
Sheriff Craig Harris placed Johnston on a drug treatment and testing order (DTTO) for 18 months, and imposed a 60-day restriction of liberty order, which he said "might assist" Johnston with compliance.
He deferred sentence on the hospital phone theft until June 15th -- when Johnston could still be jailed.
Sheriff Harris said: "The theft of the phone from a patient in the hospital is the most serious of these offences.
"It was a particularly callous act.
"I am going to continue the question of that sentence.
"It may be that the court takes some action at that point."
