IN SEARCH OF HELP, ADDICT'S PARENTS TURNED HIM IN

David Raycroft's parents turned him in to police after they saw their
son's picture in The Record as a wanted bank robber.

They believed that was the best way to force their son to get help
for his crystal meth addiction, Raycroft's lawyer, Steve Gehl, said
yesterday outside Kitchener's Ontario Court.

Raycroft pleaded guilty to robbing the Royal Bank in Elmira on Dec.
30. He was sent to jail for nine months.

Court heard he entered the Church Street bank at 1 p.m., and handed a
teller a note saying something like, "Give me money and no one will
get hurt."

He got away with only $348.

Raycroft made no effort to disguise his face, Gehl noted. He was
wearing a tight-fitting knit hat but his face was uncovered. Gehl
said that shows how irrational he was.

"Anybody who walks into a bank knows there are surveillance cameras,"
Gehl said. "He just didn't care."

The photograph published in The Record shows a determined-looking man
in a long, dark coat.

Raycroft had been using crystal methamphetamine for two years, his
lawyer said. Prior to that, he'd taken other drugs, such as marijuana
and cocaine.

"The attraction to crystal meth is, it's cheap," Gehl
said.

He said Raycroft, 27, was under the influence of crystal meth when he
robbed the bank. Gehl called it an "insidious form of addiction, an
all-consuming, overwhelming physical addiction."

Long-term users often end up picking at their skin because of a
sensation of bugs crawling on the skin. They can also have rotting
teeth, known as "meth mouth" due to reduced blood flow to teeth and
gums.

Raycroft wants to get off the drug, Gehl said. He said Raycroft was
holding down a job, but he couldn't recall what type of work he did.