A solicitor took the unusual step yesterday of asking a judge to jail his client for a lengthier period than he might have.
Joseph Damian Young (49), of no fixed abode in Derry, was appearing at the city's magistrate's court charged with two counts of criminal damage.
The court heard that he damaged a wing mirror on a woman's car parked near a police station on Sunday, before walking into the Strand Road station and pulling a tablet off a desk.
Defence solicitor Seamus Quigley said he had taken "specific instructions on this matter" and it was a case of someone wanting to be caught.
He said Young had told him that a short prison sentence does not work as it is like "a revolving door" and he wished to be jailed for around 18 months which might "give him a chance".
District Judge Barney McElholm said Young was "a hopeless alcoholic" and he had said many times in the past that if there were facilities for treatment he would send Young there, but there weren't.
He imposed an 18-month prison sentence.
