The midweek round-up from the courts in Tayside and Fife.
Parcel thief
A brazen thief swiped her neighbour’s parcel containing a £300 smart watch.
Gillian Thomson kept the Samsung Galaxy watch for herself after it was delivered to her home on Shepherds Loan, Dundee.
Thomson repeatedly denied taking in the parcel after it was delivered by Yodel.
The device was never recovered by police.
At Dundee Sheriff Court, Thomson, 47, pled guilty to stealing the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active watch on October 28, last year.
Fiscal depute Rachel Hill said: “The witness was given a tracking number for the item.
“Attempts were made by Yodel to deliver the item and a calling card was left.
“It was then noted that the parcel had been delivered to the flat upstairs.
“She went to the accused’s door and the accused denied receiving any parcel.”
The witness contacted Yodel again and gave a description of Thomson.
Police were contacted and a delivery driver later pointed out Thomson as the person who received the package.
Solicitor Doug McConnell said Thomson had suffered from mental health issues.
Sheriff Paul Brown deferred sentence until October for social work reports to be prepared.
She was released on bail.
Legacy cash
Rhona Hunter used a £700 legacy from her mother to buy a heroin stash. The drugs were discovered in the Kirkcaldy woman’s car when police found her slumped at the wheel in the town’s Beveridge Park.
Bakery robbery charge
A trial has been fixed for a man accused of robbing a Fife bakery at knifepoint.
Derek Lewis, 37, allegedly targeted Barnett bakers on February 21 last year.
Prosecutors allege Lewis brandished a knife at an employee and stole cash from the shop on High Street, Pittenweem.
Lewis, of Rolland Street, St Monans, faces a separate charge of possessing a knife.
He denies the two charges against him at Dundee Sheriff Court.
Sheriff Paul Brown scheduled a trial for April next year.
Nurse took patients’ meds
Fife care home nurse Iain MacDonald pled guilty to helping himself to residents’ medication. The Glenrothes nurse had health difficulties and was taking the liquid opiates from the home’s stores to ease the pain, Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard.
Soldier flashed
Leuchars soldier Elliott Whelpton was fined £990 for flashing at a terrified nightclub attendant.
Whelpton, 29, appeared in Dundee Sheriff Court after earlier pleading guilty to exposing himself to the woman on January 25.
Fiscal depute Rachel Hill said he was on a night out with friends at the Underground nightclub, on Tay Street, Dundee.
After refusing to pay his way in, drunken Whelpton told the night club employee: “I’ve not got a ticket but I’ve got a d***’, at which point he took out his penis and put it on the ledge in front of her.
Sheriff Paul Brown referred to the assault as a “a disgusting offence” which caused great distress to the victim.
However, he added: “I am also mindful of punishment in terms of your army career (and) I note you have no previous convictions.
Sheriff Brown opted to not impose a community payback order, stating that such a punishment would, “deprive the army of your service”.
Whelpton, whose address was given as care of Leuchars army base, was fined £990 and given 28 days to pay.
Crieff cannabis factory
Crieff drug dealer Caileon Ward broke into a long-term empty flat in the town centre and set up a cannabis factory. The 22-year-old’s £43,000 operation was discovered and he has now been jailed.
Drink drive smash
A Perth drink driver, who was almost five times over the limit when he took his wife’s car, managed to drive just a few hundred metres before crashing into another motorist.
Dumitriu Ciobanu, of Ballantine Place, had jumped into the after an afternoon’s drinking and managed to travel roughly quarter of a mile before smashing into another vehicle on May 30, last year.
31-year-old Ciobanu, who does not possess a UK driving licence, had not been given permission to drive the car and was not insured to do so.
Father-of-three Ciobanu, a steelworker currently based on a Dundee construction site, left his flat and drove as far as the junction between Crieff Road and Simpson Square in a bid to meet friends.
He admitted failing to stop at the scene of the crash, driving without insurance, a licence or permission from the vehicle’s owner.
Ciobanu also admitted returning a reading of 108 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of breath when officers tested him.
Sheriff Keith O’Mahony disqualified Ciobanu for 20 months and ordered him to complete 140 hours of unpaid work.
In case you missed it…
Tuesday round-up — Charity worker crash and takeaway tirade
Monday round-up — Takeaway rant and second murder accused
Friday round-up — Lidl ban and murder accusation
Thursday round-up — Sleepy shoplifter and Covid cougher
EXCLUSIVE: How fraudsters scammed Crieff restaurant out of £44,000 in elaborate curry racket