The midweek round-up has dropped.
Friendly staffie
A sheriff told Michael Horne he was “imbecilic” for making death threats to police officers before trying to set his over-friendly dog on them.
Horne lifted the bull terrier over his shoulders and set it officers, only for the dog to wander over and be petted by them.
The friendly Staffie ignored Horne’s “kill” orders and instead walked towards the officers, who were able to put it into their van without any problems.
Sheriff Euan Duthie placed Horne under supervision for a year and ordered him to carry out 120 hours unpaid work in the community.
He told Horne: “This was an appalling incident, imbecilic in fact.”
Horne – who had made bomb and rape threats – decided to launch himself at the officers after his good-natured pet let him down during the fracas at his home.
While the dog approached officers “in a friendly manner,” Horne repeatedly charged at them until officers eventually tackled him with Pava spray.
Horne, 23, of Avenue Road, Kinross, admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner at home and in a police vehicle on July 2, 2020.
He admitted shouting, swearing and issuing violent threats as well as directing a dog to attack officers.
Solicitor Billy Somerville, defending, said: “He is a different person now to how he was then.”
Repeated abuse
A Turkish barber from Perth has been back in the sheriff court for abusing his wife, despite once being ordered to complete a course on the “cultural differences” between Turkish and Scottish women. Fecri Konu has now been convicted of three offences against his wife.
Samurai sword
A man seen in a Lochgelly street with a samurai sword he was trying to sell to buy drugs has been placed on a structured deferred sentence for 12 weeks.
Jason King, 48, visited addresses in Russell Street with the weapon, Dunfermlien Sheriff Court heard previously.
Worried neighbours called police, with one fearing King was going to hit someone with the sword when he raised it above his head.
King, of Craigleith Avenue, Inverkeithing, admitted possessing the sword on September 9, 2020.
Sheriff Francis Gill told him: “There’s simply no excuse for carrying a sword in a public place and this is concerning for anyone who saw you with it.”
Defence lawyer Aimee Allan said King had planned to sell the sword to a friend but accepts he was seen with it.
Ms Allan said her client has since taken “significant steps in the right direction” and is no longer at the stage where it is deemed necessary for him to undergo a drug treatment testing order assessment.
She said: “He has completely stopped taking illicit substances.”
Asked for prison
Violent domestic abuser Michael Dougan asked a sheriff to jail him to “atone” for his crimes. The 38-year-old Dundonian got his wish and thanked the sheriff as he left the dock.
Prison death
A father who knifed his son to death was has died in a Perthshire prison.
Edward Simpson died at Castle Huntly on Friday, more than 20 years after he killed his son.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “Edward Simpson, 55, a prisoner from HMP Castle Huntly has died on 18 March 2022.
“Mr Simpson was sentenced at Glasgow High Court in 2002.
“Police Scotland have been advised and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
“A Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held in due course.”
Simpson stabbed his 18-year-old son, also Edward, in the chest outside his home.
As the teenager staggered back, Simpson laughed: “Ha ha ha. Was that sore, you wee p****? I hope it was sore.”
Drunk Simpson calmly turned and walked away.
A jury at the High Court in Glasgow unanimously found Simpson, then 35, guilty of committing the murder at Bannerman Place, Clydebank.
He was sentenced to at least 10 years in prison by Lord Emslie.
During the four-day trial, the court heard Edward Jnr had run home after a fight.
His father was singing carols with his younger children, with a large knife in the waistband of his trousers.
The pair argued and the row spilled into the street.
One police officer said flippant Simpson, who also had assault convictions, even joked about another officer’s tie when they arrived.
The full caseload of the Dundee Crime and Courts Team can be found here.
