A Fife man paid £50 to transport a stolen vehicle was caught when he stopped to spend his ill-gained earnings at a McDonald’s drive-thru.
David Munro, 28, of Lomond Gardens in Methil, appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court by video link from prison to admit resetting the vehicle and tools stolen in a housebreaking on February 17 this year.
He was snared when the stolen vehicle was caught on camera as he waited for food at the Leven fast food branch.
His solicitor David Bell said: “His life in recent years has been blighted by his use of drugs.
“He was contacted and asked if he was willing to be involved in moving the vehicle he knew was stolen.
“He was asked to move it from a locked area in Methil to a yard.
“He tells me he was paid £50.
“Perhaps demonstrating his naïvety, he stopped at McDonald’s.
“He purchased a meal, spent some of his £50, drove off and police traced him.
“People smarter than Mr Munro make sure they have people to do the legwork.”
Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane remanded him for reports ahead of sentencing on August 25.
Privates parade
A man walked through a Dundee retail park with his private parts “hanging out” before pleasuring himself in front of concerned shoppers. Michael Bajek appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court to admit engaging in sexual activity twice on September 13 last year.
Racist call on train
Niall Mitchell, 32, was overheard making racist slurs while on the phone to his partner on a train journey between Edinburgh and Leuchars.
He pled guilty at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing and using racially abusive language while on the phone on the London King’s Cross to Aberdeen service on November 8 last year.
Mitchell, from Aberdeen, was overheard using phrases such as “that black c**t” and the word “n***ers,” causing alarm to witnesses.
Fiscal depute Amy Robertson told the court British Transport Police were contacted.
She said the witness then saw Mitchell on what appeared to be Facetime with a child on the screen, saying the words: “If you are still on that f***ing Playstation you little c**t, when I get home I will chuck the f***ing thing out the window.”
Mitchell’s defence lawyer said her client was having an argument with his partner at the time and regrets the language he used.
Sheriff Timothy Niven-Smith fined Mitchell £266.67, a discounted sum following his guilty plea at the earliest opportunity.
The sheriff told him: “You should not have engaged in that type of phone call in the presence of others.”
Set High Street fire
Kirkcaldy businessman Remo Maciocia admitted terrorising his family and starting a fire in his High Street shop. The former hotel boss is being assessed in hospital before sentencing.
Decent excuse
A Perth man due to be sentenced for breaching court orders cannot walk after a vicious hammer attack, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
Grant Lynch was to be appear in the dock, having previously admitted repeatedly breaching a non-harassment order.
His solicitor Linda Clark said the 41-year-old, of St Catherine Square, was unable to attend because he had been the victim of a recent serious assault.
“Someone took a hammer to a tendon on his leg.
“Police found him crawling about on his hands and knees.
“They are now trying to track down the assailant.
“As a result, he cannot walk and could not get here today.”
Sheriff Francis Gill agreed to defer sentence until August 24.
Ninewells threat
A violent thug threatened to blow up Ninewells Hospital after doctors refused to let him have a cigarette. Craig Lettice, 39, was being restrained by police when he made the remark.
A man who viciously assaulted his girlfriend and told her “you need to make more effort,” has been ordered to stay away from her for three years.
Scott McGregor shoved his partner to the floor and punched her in the face, leaving her with a black eye, during a drink-fuelled tantrum at their Crieff home.
He appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted assault and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner in Commissioner Street on December 15 2021.
He claimed he snapped because of his girlfriend’s “controlling” behaviour.
McGregor, 31, of Davidson Way, Livingston, was placed on supervision for 12 months and ordered to carry out 110 hours of unpaid work.
Fiscal depute Nicole Lewis said: “He pushed the complainer by the throat causing her to fall to the ground.
“Thereafter, he picked up ornaments and threw them against a wall.
“He then punched the complainer on the face, causing her right eye to bruise.”
McGregor began shouting at his girlfriend, calling her “fat” and said: “You need to make more effort.”
Ms Lewis said a neighbour arrived and saw McGregor’s victim “crying hysterically”.
Solicitor Linda Clark, defending, said: “He accepts that his behaviour was entirely unacceptable.
“It’s fair to say that the relationship had not been in a good place for some time.
“They had broken up but then rekindled but Mr McGregor now thinks that was a mistake.”
She said McGregor’s girlfriend had been “controlling,” regularly checked his phone, demanding to know his whereabouts and seizing his bank cards.
“This was the final straw for Mr McGregor.
“There had been an argument, he had consumed alcohol and that had only exacerbated the situation.”
Montrose pair to be sentenced
Montrose FC plyers Liam Callaghan and Craig Johnston will be sentenced next year for an assault on a Dublin street after a nightclub confrontation on a night out. The pair had offered money to their victim in compensation but the judge said it was not enough.
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