A Fife man challenged his next door neighbour to a fight while holding a wallpaper scraper after being accused of dumping grass cuttings in his brown bin.
Thomas Johnson lost his temper when neighbour Declan Petrie poured the garden waste onto his lawn in Methil’s Herriot Crescent on April 19 this year.
Procurator fiscal depute Sarah Smith told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, following an argument, Johnson came outside with a black-handled wallpaper scraper and “attempted to goad” Mr Petrie.
The fiscal depute said Mr Petrie had believed the object to be a knife.
She said police arrived a short time later and found Johnson standing at the doorway with a wallpaper scraper in his hand.
Johnson, 41, admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by challenging Mr Petrie to a fight while holding a bladed article.
Defence lawyer David Cranston said Johnson was inside decorating when he heard an argument between his partner and neighbour.
Sheriff Alastair Brown told Johnson: “Your problem is your record and your inability to control yourself.
“On this occasion the matter is relatively minor and the fact it was a wallpaper scraper rather than a knife does make a difference”.
The sheriff gave Johnson a prison sentence of nine months, backdated to April 20 when he was remanded in custody over the incident.
Baby’s heart stopped
A baby’s heart stopped for 15 minutes after it was given cocaine by a Blairgowrie man. Goe Wheeler insisted he had no idea how the cocaine had been ingested by the youngster but he admitted snorting two lines of the class A drug the day the baby fell ill. The baby was saved by medics and Wheeler has been jailed.
Death crash trial set
A flatbed truck driver from Fife is to stand trial in September 2023 charged with causing the death by dangerous driving of a bicycle-riding nurse.
Douglas Toshack, 50, is accused of hitting James Harrison, 36, on the A772 Gilmerton Road in Edinburgh on June 25 2020.
The charge alleges he failed to maintain proper observations at a junction and failed to spot Mr Harrison travelling in the opposite direction.
Toshack allegedly turned into the path of the dad and drove over him.
Mr Harrison is said to have been left so severely injured that he passed away at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary the next day.
Toshack, of Kelty, faces an alterative charge of causing death by careless driving, including a claim he was found to have an excessive amount of the drug Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol – known as THC – in his blood.
Toshack’s legal team pled not guilty on his behalf during a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow.
Offences as both genders
A Dundonian who flashed at police in a gender row and hurled pizza and a skateboard during a series of public order offences has appeared in court having been charged as both a man and a woman. The 50-year-old was put on a Restriction of Liberty Order for three months as a result of offences committed as both Alan and Alannah Morgan.
Fiend warning
A Perth fiend remanded by a sheriff before being released on appeal has been warned he could be locked up again.
Jamie McRae, 23, groomed a 15-year-old girl and lured her from her home in Lincolnshire, sparking a nationwide search.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was made to pose with McRae for sexually graphic photographs and had his number listed in her phone under the name “Daddy.”
Appearing at Perth Sheriff Court in September, he admitted engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl in Coupar Angus between March 12 and 15 2020.
He admitted sending her sexually explicit messages via social media, and pled guilty to having sex with her on various occasions between March 13 and 15 2020.
McRae sexually assaulted a second girl – aged 14 – a few months later in September 2020.
Sheriff Euan Duthie deferred sentence and remanded McRae in custody but he was released following a successful appeal.
He returned to court on Wednesday for sentencing but it emerged he had failed to complete a background report ordered by the court.
Sheriff Duthie said: “I was disappointed to see this report was not available.
“If you don’t engage, you will be locked up again.”
He deferred sentence “for one final time” until November 30.
Murder accused
Murder suspect David Barnes, 32, has been accused in court of killing Fife man Ean Coutts and trying to set fire to his body, before posing as him to get Viagra. Barnes denies 36 charges including murder, theft, fraud and attempting to defeat the end sof justice surrounding the death of Mr Coutts, whose body was found in Glenrothes in 2020 after a massive public appeal.
Shoe strike
A Fife man hurled a shoe at a toddler’s face during an argument with his partner.
Paul Brown appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court to admit three charges.
Brown, 36, of Sandyhill Road in St Andrews, admitted acting threateningly towards a woman at an address in Cupar on January 24.
During an argument, he shouted, swore and made a threat of violence.
He also admitted culpably and recklessly throwing a child’s shoe, which struck a two-year-old boy in the face.
He also assaulted the woman by pushing her on the body, causing her to fall and strike her head against a kitchen cabinet and later, seizing her by the clothing.
The altercation was heard by a neighbour who called police.
The court heard Brown has a previous conviction for assault to injury.
Sheriff George Way deferred sentence until December 1 for reports.
Thief
Dundee thief Ryan Simpson, who tried to break into premises along Perth Road, before finally raiding a restaurant, is behind bars. Simpson forced his way into Beirut Mediterranean restaurant just after Christmas and made off with the cash register.
