A drug addict whose pleas that he would only continue to take drugs if he was imprisoned fell on deaf ears in the Supreme Court on Friday.

Gary Raynor, 37, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of breaching his probation order after the court heard he repeatedly failed mandatory drug tests.

Raynor was beginning the second year of his three-year probation ? given on May 4, 2004 ? when it was revoked on Friday by Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves.

A community service order had been given to Raynor so that he might be able to get drug treatment following an earlier robbery conviction.

However, the defendant cancelled his appointments with a drug counsellor and was discharged from his drug treatment programme, along with reporting inconsistently to his probation officer, who tested him positive for drugs on several occasions.

The defendant was convicted in 2004 of stealing cash and items from a man in Victoria Park, Hamilton on August 3, 2000 as part of a scheme in which he robbed a man after a woman lured him, under sexual pretences, into Victoria Park.

The court was told that instead of sharing the proceeds of the theft with the woman, as discussed, Raynor made off with all of them ? cash, keys, cigarettes, and a screwdriver. The double-crossed woman then made a complaint against the defendant with police, who caught up with him on August 27 of that same year. He admitted to the allegations against him, and pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing in Supreme Court four years later.

Crown counsel Anthony Blackman stated: ?The defendant has been given ample opportunity to turn himself around. He must be in a controlled environment and protected from himself.?

Asked by Mr. Justice Greaves about his non-attendance at drug programmes, Raynor replied: ?Bermuda doesn?t have programmes for people like me.?

Raynor asked what his going to jail would achieve, and said that incarceration would actually exacerbate his drug problem by causing an ?I may as well get high? attitude.

Mr. Justice Greaves was not convinced by the arguments of the defendant ? who appeared in court yesterday with wounds to his arm and leg from allegedly being attacked by two men wielding pipes.

Mr. Justice Greaves said he was ?satisfied that the defendant can no longer be treated in the community,? and therefore there was ?no alternative to incarceration.?

The defendant was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, where mental health programmes would be made available to him.

An agitated Raynor said as he was escorted out of court:?I?m going up Westgate to smoke a joint.?