A promising teenager who ‘lost his mind’ and went on a vandalism spree after taking the party drug meow meow has been locked up for a year.
Earl Bayliss, 19, had racked up 13 GCSEs at school and held down a string of well-paid jobs, a court heard.
But he inexplicably lost control after bingeing on alcohol and taking the former ‘legal high’ Mephedrone – also known as Mcat – which was outlawed last year.
He smashed up more than a dozen vehicles on two occasions – once with a baseball bat – and set fire to one of the cars.
Bayliss pleaded guilty to arson and six charges of damaging property at Bristol Crown Court and was sentenced to 12 months’ youth custody.
Sentencing, Judge Julian Lambert warned of the dangers of mixing alcohol and Mcat.
He said: “You were arrested reading a book in a public library. You are from a good family.
“The route of this is not difficult to find; persistent use of drink and drugs.
“Mcat and alcohol needs to be drawn to the attention of all those who take it. It makes people lose their minds.
“You must never take it again and you are well advised not to drink.”
Bayliss, who was employed as a customer sales associate for the RAC before the offences took place, went on his first wrecking spree near his home in Kingswood, Bristol, on June 30th this year.
He smash the windscreens and wing mirrors of a number of cars, including a Skoda Fabia, a Peugeot 106, a Citroen Berlingo and a Vauxhall Antara.
Victims spotted him standing by their vehicles holding a baseball bat and smoking.
Police interviewed Bayliss, who claimed he was so drunk he did not remember the incident.
But while on bail he struck again in August, targeting AC Auto Services on Lucas Business Park in Hanham, Bristol, at 4.30am.
He damaged 11 vehicles at a garage, including five which he set on fire.
Mark Hollier, prosecuting, said: “The defendant can be seen on the CCTV cameras entering the yard area by coming from the gate entrance.”
The court heard Bayliss had consumed ten cans of lager at a party before going to a nightclub in Kingswood, where he downed more booze and took Mcat.
He said he entered the yard to urinate but could not remember how the fire started.
Bayliss, who attended The Grange School in Kingswood, admitted he had no reason to cause damage as he was not in dispute with any of the cars’ owners.
Former ‘legal high’ party drug Mephedrone has been linked to 52 deaths in the UK.
