A man has been cleared of allegations he and another broke into Gleneagles Golf Academy and made off with clubs.
At a trial at Perth Sheriff Court, CCTV from January 17 2020 was shown, depicting two men in balaclavas breaking into the golf shop at the prestigious Perthshire resort and making off with armfuls of Titleist golf clubs.
49-year-old Eric Dowds, of Harthill in North Lanarkshire, appeared from custody accused of carrying out the raid.
He had admitted twice visiting the shop in the fortnight before and enquiring with staff about a left-handed club.
Fiscal depute Nicole Lewis described this as “scoping out” the shop, as the raiders made their way straight to where Dowds had been browsing.
On one of his visits, Dowds was seen wearing similar tracksuit bottoms to one of the raiders and he was wearing a similar pair when he was arrested two days after the raid.
However, Sheriff Francis Gill stated this evidence was not enough to convict Dowds, who gave evidence he had been at home that night caring for his cancer-stricken wife.
Drag assault
Dundee man Darren Davidson attacked a drag artist on a night out after taking umbrage at being asked to wear a mask during the coronavirus pandemic. The 49-year-old threw a drink at Liam Clarke – who had just been performing – before punching him on the head at Kandy Bar nightclub in May 2021.
Boozed-up breakfast
A Glenrothes man was caught in his car while more than four times the legal alcohol limit after he was seen by police “staggering” out of a café where he’d just eaten breakfast.
Gordon Evans, 57, had already put the keys in the ignition when officers approached him in the vehicle near the premises in Kinglassie’s Main Street last month.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard police had been contacted by a concerned member of the public who saw Evans leaving his silver car, “staggering as if drunk” and entering the café.
Procurator fiscal depute Amy Robertson said: “Police attended a short time later and a male, the accused, was seen in the café having breakfast.
“Officers parked opposite the accused’s vehicle and saw him exiting the café and having to hold on to the door frame to steady himself and staggering to the vehicle and holding on to the roof of the car.
“They saw him enter the vehicle in the driver’s side.”
The fiscal depute said officers saw him insert a car key into the ignition before asking him to take a breath test.
Evans, of Ivanhoe Drive in Glenrothes, pled guilty to being in charge of a car after consuming 89 mics/22 on June 15 this year in Kinglassie’s Main Street.
Sheriff Ian Anderson banned him from driving for a year and fined him £300.
Family sentencing disgust
The family “terrorised” by a Dundee council social work employee caught snooping on them, said they have been left disgusted by his sentencing. Liam Buchan was convicted at Dundee Sheriff Court of breaking data protection rules after he illegally accessed files about his former partner Courtney Esson and her family.
Petrol peril
A 22-year-old Kirkcaldy man has admitted throwing a lit cigarette onto a petrol station forecourt in the town.
Brandon Robertson, of Hazel Avenue, pled guilty to the charge of culpable and reckless conduct at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
Court papers state the incident took place at a Shell garage in the town’s Hendry Road on July 27 last year.
Sheriff Francis Gill deferred sentencing until July 26.
Racist rant
Teenager Steven Sinclair unleashed a racist tirade at a Dundee takeaway that messed up his order and told police: “I just really hate peppers and onions.” He phoned, then visited, the Azaad Tandoori in Whitfield to launch an expletive-laden rant, Dundee Sheriff Court heard.
Hammer attacker jailed for a decade after leaving Fife victim needing lifelong care
The full caseload of the Dundee Crime and Courts Team can be found here.
