Shakespeare folio man admits theft

Jan 13 2009 By Paul James, The Journal

AN eccentric antiques dealer caught stealing a cannabis book from a high street bookstore yesterday compared his plight to that of Gandhi.

Raymond Scott, 51, was caught by plainclothes security staff stealing a copy of The Cannabible Collection worth £18.99 and a £32 book on stone sheepfold artworks from a branch of Waterstone’s in the MetroCentre in Gateshead.

Scott, who is at the centre of a separate investigation into the theft of a £15m Shakespeare folio from Durham University, appeared before Gateshead Magistrates’ Court wearing his trademark Cuban holiday outfit – blue jeans, brown T-shirt, brown leather jacket, dark Tiffany & Co New York sunglasses and a Felipe Massa F1 baseball cap.

Bearded Scott was allowed to keep his sunglasses on throughout the proceedings because he said he had a problem with his eyes.

The court heard MetroCentre security staff spotted Scott acting suspiciously in the shopping centre on September 21 last year and followed him into Waterstone’s.

They then watched him pick up one of the two books off a shelf and carry it to another part of the store and placing it on the shelf next to the other book.

Scott was then seen crouching out of view before the security guards heard Scott place both books in a plastic bag and walk out of the shop.

He was then challenged by the guards and subsequently arrested by the police.

"The defendant admitted he left the store without making payment for either of the books," said prosecutor David Mayhew.

Scott, who had previously lived with his mother in Washington but whose address is now Sandford Close, Wingate, County Durham, admitted a single charge of theft totalling £50.99.

According to the book’s summary, The Cannabible Collection, written by photographer and "renowned pot connoisseur" Jason King, is an encyclopaedia of his favourite types of marijuana – from the "coffee shops of Amsterdam to the mountains of Afghanistan to the volcanoes of Hawaii".

It is "the most indulgent gift you can give the pot lover in your life – except for the herb itself".

Enclosures, by Andy Goldsworthy, records his series of artworks created from the stone sheepfolds of Cumbria.

Judith Curry, defending, said Scott was due to see a psychiatrist to discuss ongoing mental health problems.

"He is under a great deal of stress and there has been some concerns to his psychiatric health at the time of this offence," she told the court.

Magistrates fined Scott a total of £105 and also ordered him to pay £150 prosecution costs.

Scott, who does not have a job, offered to pay £1 a week from his benefits but chair of the bench Gail Askew told him the minimum payment was £5 a week.

Scott remains the subject of an ongoing transatlantic police probe into the theft of a Shakespeare first folio from Durham University Library.

Mr Scott made headlines around the world in July when he presented a book of Shakespeare works to the respected Folger Shakespeare Library, in Washington DC, USA. He claimed to have bought it in Cuba – but after analysis, library experts became concerned it was the Shakespeare first folio stolen from Durham University library in 1998.

Speaking outside court yesterday, Scott compared his present position to that of Gandhi.

"I am not going to pay the fine because the amount was totally inappropriate and if they want to send me to prison for non-payment then so be it," he told reporters.

"Was not Gandhi imprisoned by the British? I feel the fine was excessive and I find it morally repugnant that Waterstone’s should make a profit from selling the bible."