A Kirkcaldy businessman who torched his town centre shop “to keep his plants warm” will be kept in hospital for six months.
Remo Maciocia was made subject to a compulsion order at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
Earlier this summer, the 58-year-old was seen adding to a fire in his High Street unit, formerly occupied by HSS Hire.
The former boss of the Lang Toun’s Auld Post Hotel was described by solicitor Michelle Renton as having “an episode of mania with psychotic symptoms” at a previous hearing.
Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane made the order, which is used when an offender commits an crime that is punishable by imprisonment but is found to have a mental disorder.
Maciocia will be sentenced for three other offences in December and his order will be reviewed in March.
Shaman obsession
A woman who developed an obsession with a Tayside shaman has been ordered to stay out of his life for five years. Cassidy Blythe, from Glasgow, became fixated with professional tarot card therapist and shamanic practitioner Brian Anderson.
Car dealer grooming case not proven
A former luxury car dealership boss has been acquitted of attempting to send sexually explicit images, messages and a video to a 13-year-old girl.
Gavin Paterson went on trial this week at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to face allegations dating back to early 2020 at addresses in Livingston and Leven.
A jury was told he had sent explicit material to a decoy pretending to be a 13-year-old girl called ‘Zoe’ during message exchanges online.
He strenuously denied the charges and claimed he knew from the outset he was speaking to an adult pretending to be a child and simply wanted to “waste their time” by engaging in character role play.
The 53-year-old said: “I thought it was a poor attempt as an adult trying to portray themselves as a child.
“If I thought this really was a 13-year-old I would not have continued this.”
During closing submissions in the trial, defence lawyer Mark Harrower highlighted various examples of message exchanges shown in court which he said suggested Paterson knew he was talking to an adult.
But procurator fiscal depute Laura McManus questioned Paterson about why he went on to send a picture of his penis if he knew it was an adult.
Paterson, of Gorgie Road, Edinburgh replied: “That was a massive error of judgement at the time and I can not give you any reasonable excuse as to why I continued it.
“It’s not something I engage in and have engaged in since, and certainly hindsight is a wonderful thing.
“I was probably in the wrong place mentally at the time and it was a strong error of judgement which I deeply regret.”
Paterson told the trial he’d been confronted and filmed by members of self styled paedophile hunter group Forbidden Scotland outside a hotel in Hamilton in August 2020.
He said he lost his job as a general manager at a luxury car dealership a result of being charged but was never interviewed by police about the allegations.
Jurors returned a not proven verdict.
Jailed after rampage
Mark Thomson, 47, from Aberfoyle was jailed after a drunken rampage in Auchterarder. A policeman was left covered in blood during the gin-fuelled carnage, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
Charity theft denial
A 48-year-old man is accused of breaking into a Perthshire church and stealing cash from charity tins.
Steven Lockhart denies the raid on St Bride’s at Pitlochry.
It is alleged he forced his way inside the Rie-Achan Road building on February 13, 2020.
Prosecutors claim once inside he stole a sum of money from charity boxes.
The church is owned by the Diocese of Dunkeld.
Lockhart, of Glasgow Road, Edinburgh, was not at Perth Sheriff Court when his case called.
It was continued until November 3.
