A man who dragged a neighbour from a burning flat was arrested shortly afterwards when police discovered a stash of drugs in his home. Steven Rowatt, 57, had asked officers to enter his sealed-off property to check on his pet snake. The reptile was unharmed, but police found cocaine with a street value of £3,200 and £1,610 worth of cannabis.
Court Hearing and Fire Incident
Rowatt admitted being concerned in the supply of the drugs at his home in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, on January 27. Airdrie Sheriff Court heard that all six flats in the block in Crowhill Crescent were evacuated after the fire broke out at lunchtime.
Defence lawyer Paul Belardo said: "My client and his daughter went into the flat where the fire was and dragged out their neighbour." After fire appliances extinguished the blaze, Rowatt said he wanted to go back to his flat, telling police he needed medication for a heart condition and to check on his pet snake.
Discovery and Sentencing
The officers would not let him return but entered the flat themselves and found the cocaine and cannabis on open display. Rowatt insisted he was not a commercial drug dealer. Mr Belardo said he had pleaded guilty on the basis of social supply to friends, adding: "He has been a habitual user of cannabis for decades."
Sheriff Tony McGlennan said he accepted Rowatt's claim that he sold drugs only to fund his own cannabis habit, which "must have been formidable". The sheriff placed him under supervision for a year and ordered him to attend addiction services. He will be confined to his home between 7pm and 7am under a 108-day electronic tagging order. Sheriff McGlennan also ordered confiscation of £5,805 that police seized in the flat.
