A former anti-crime poster girl has been jailed after terrorising Angus supermarket staff, bingo hall employees and a bus driver.
Kathleen Carnegie also breached strict court orders and left a police custody officer injured after grabbing her by the neck for almost half a minute.
Carnegie appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court to be told she will be spending the next six months behind bars.
With a history of offending in Angus, Carnegie hit the headlines in 2019 after being used as an example of someone who had turned their life around with the help of the Glen Isla programme.
Catalogue of offending
Carnegie was sentenced for six complaints.
- On November 9 in 2020, she stole £12 worth of food and soft drinks from Aldi in Forfar. While there, she behaved threateningly towards employees, and threatened to “knife” one worker after the store closed. She tried to leave and told one worker: “The Forfar gang are going to wait outside to get you on a random night.”
- In December 2021, she drunkenly banged on an Arbroath man’s peephole in Sidney Street with a screwdriver and accused him of stealing money. She was told it was the wrong address.
- She attacked a pair of police custody officers after being arrested for breaching bail conditions.
- On August 16, she behaved threateningly at Buzz Bingo in Arbroath, from which she was banned. Police caught up with her almost three hours later as she was shouting at a bus driver at Arbroath bus station. She then turned her aggression towards police, calling male police officers rapists and one a sexual predator.
- On September 29, she was taken from St Mary Street in Arbroath to West Bell Street police headquarters, where she attacked Juliet Goodchild and Cher-Marie Sheriff. After refusing to change into anti-harm clothing, Carnegie repeatedly kicked Ms Goodchild on the body and seized Ms Sheriff on the throat for 28 seconds, leaving her neck scratched and reddened.
- On January 4 this year, Carnegie was arrested for breaching curfew by being outside her Newbigging Drive home after 7pm only minutes after being dropped off by police. After being arrested she was taken to West Bell Street and during the journey, told police: “f**k you,” “you are going to need more officers to deal with me” and “I am going to stick my nut on you.”
She admitted the last offence at Dundee Sheriff Court earlier this week.
‘A woman who has suffered’
Carnegie’s solicitor Billy Rennie said: “The later cases all seem to amount from a bail order.
“An awful lot of it amounts from something involving a breach of bail and then matters escalate.
“Her report is a sad report that indicated a woman who has suffered.
“She today accepts that custody has to be uppermost in the court’s mind.
“She is aware of the difficulties she has caused.”
Imprisoned
Sheriff Krista Johnston imposed prison sentences on all six complaints, with some running concurrently.
In total, Carnegie was jailed for six months.
The sheriff said: “You’re 43, you have a long record of previous convictions.
“I can see you’ve previously been dealt with in a number of ways.
“There’s not a service in this country that can meet your needs.”
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