As we step into the weekend, the Friday court round-up demonstrates how not to go supermarket shopping.
Begged to go to prison
James Doherty blew a month’s worth of benefits in an afternoon on booze and bets, then smashed a Kirkcaldy supermarket window in front of police and begged to go to prison.
Doherty admitted repeatedly throwing bricks at the windows of Lidl on Kirkcaldy Esplanade.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard police officers passing at 10.20pm saw him standing next to a smashed window with a brick in his hand.
They watched as the “heavily intoxicated” 58-year-old threw the brick and picked up another.
He told police: “I didn’t try to steal, I broke in because I have mental health.”
His defence solicitor David Cranston explained Doherty had that day received his benefits for the month, totalling £645 and spent an amount of it on alcohol.
After realising he had around £1,500 in bills to pay, he gambled the remainder of the money in an attempt to win it back.
Doherty left the bookies empty-handed and took to desperate measures to get a custodial sentence.
Sheriff Alison McKay said it was “a sad situation to be in” but added “being in custody for four weeks isn’t going to solve his problems.”
He was remanded until July 29 for reports.
Blowtorch threat
A Fife man who threw petrol on a neighbour and then threatened him with a blowtorch during a parking dispute has been spared jail. Hugh Vinning‘s case can be read here.
Supermarket ban
A man who went on the rampage in a Kirkcaldy supermarket has been banned from returning until he is sentenced.
Robert Butcher admitted that on June 9, he was abusive towards a security guard at Morrisons on Kirkcaldy Esplanade and assaulted another shopper.
Butcher, of the town’s Invertiel Bank, was acting in an aggressive manner and shouting and swearing at the waterside supermarket.
He pushed another customer on his body, pulled items from a display and threw them to the ground and used derogatory language towards a security guard.
The 39-year-old also kicked bags containing items which had been bought by another customer.
He pushed another man to the ground.
Butcher pled guilty to acting in a threatening or abusive manner and assault.
Sheriff James Williamson deferred sentencing until August 5
Caravan sales trial priority
A sheriff has warned the Crown to prioritise a case against a caravan park owner due to the age of witnesses. Some of those listed as witnesses and complainers in the case against Cresswell Welch are in their 70s and 80s. Welch is accused of using threatening behaviour and deceit to sell mobile homes. The charges can be seen here.
Breached order five times
A 58-year-old Perth man, who was spared a jail sentence for a half-naked rampage through his neighbour’s home, has breached his court order five times.
Drug addict Eric Donaldson, who began using heroin when he was just 13, lost his false teeth during the bizarre incident at a property in Poplar Drive, in January this year.
Father-of-three Craig White came face-to-face with Donaldson as he wandered through his house, topless and with his trousers around his ankles.
He shouted and swore as he rummaged through drawers and handbags, prompting Mr White to escape his home and leave Donaldson inside.
In April, Donaldson, of Primrose Crescent, was sentenced to an eight month restriction of liberty order, meaning he must stay inside his home.
On Friday, he returned to court and admitted breaching the order five times.
Solicitor Mike Tavendale said his client had stepped out of his home for various reasons, including helping a neighbour fix their lawnmower and to tend to a man who had been hit by a car.
Sheriff William Wood agreed to extend Donaldson’s order, saying sending him to jail would be “like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.”
The case was adjourned until August 6.
‘Danger of life’
Rafal Walczykowski, 28, allegedly stabbed Jacek Turek at an address in the Menzieshill area of Dundee on Thursday.
At Burnside Court, where he lives, Walczykowski allegedly threw a metal object out of an eighth-floor window causing it to fall to the ground, to the danger of life.
He allegedly smashed a window on the same floor.
It is claimed Walczykowski vandalised a Volkswagen T-Roc car on Pentland Crescent before throwing a rock at Emma Baird at Lochee Park.
Walczykowski is further accused of striking a man on the head and body with a knife at an address on Tweed Crescent, causing him severe injury and permanent disfigurement.
Walczykowski allegedly breached bail conditions by entering Kirk Street before punching a woman on the head on the street.
He made no plea when he appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court and the case was continued for further examination.
He was remanded in custody.
In case you missed it…
Thursday round-up – Objection! and postie ban
Wednesday round-up — Man denies putting his junk in a bin
Tuesday round-up — Fire, fraud and taxi indecency
Monday round-up — Fisherman’s surprise and chemist blaze threat
The Exploited: Human trafficking in Tayside and Fife exposed
