A 20-year-old cannabis drug-driver has been banned from the road and fined.
Finn McDonough, of Pitdinnie Avenue, Cairneyhill, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to admit driving a car with more than three times the specified limit of THC in his system (6.9mcg/litre – the limit is 2mcg/ litre).
The offence took place on Dunlin Drive, Dunfermline, on November 2 last year.
Sheriff Wyllie Robertson disqualified McDonough from driving for 14 months and fined him £500.
Plank
A man from Fife admitted assaulting two young children by forcing them to hold a “plank” position for long periods. Seong Jin Yim, 53, abused the youngsters for more than three years and claimed the agonising exercise would be “beneficial” for them.
Tan-nabis plantation
A 31-year-old man who produced and supplied cannabis worth nearly £240,000 at a Leven former tanning salon has been jailed.
Egzon Konomi was previously convicted by jury following a two-day trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
The plantation was found at the closed-down Tan Stand on Commercial Road, Leven, between October 31 2020 and March 1 2021.
While acting with others, he produced cannabis and was concerned in supplying the class B drug.
Following the majority guilty verdicts on both charges, prosecutor Douglas Thomson told the court the potential street value of the cannabis was estimated to be between £180,000 and £239,900.
Konomi, who had an Albanian interpreter during proceedings, appeared again in court for sentencing.
Sheriff Susan Duff jailed him for two years and six months.
Racist assault
A 76-year-old woman admitted a racially-aggravated assault on her Northern Irish neighbour, telling her: “You should have been shot with the rest of them.” Pensioner Catherine Powell clashed with the woman outside her home in Balbeggie, near Perth, and slapped her across the face.
Crime proceeds health toll
A drugs dealer from Fife facing a £678,000 proceeds of crime action has told a judge how the stress of the case has made him feel “suicidal”.
William Binnie, 52, made the admission to judge Alison Stirling during a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Binnie told the court that the case was having a toll on his mental health.
He said: “I’ve suffered a stroke and my head is all over the place.
“I’m suicidal. My mental health and my anger management is suffering.”
Binnie, of Buckhaven was jailed for four and a half years in 2019 he admitted being concerned in the supply of the cocaine between August 2018 and January 2019 at Rising Sun Road, Buckhaven, and Main Street, West Wemyss.
He previously served a nine-year sentence for trafficking in heroin.
In May 2021, lawyers for Binnie asked a court to put off a proceeds of crime action so that he could visit an Apple Shop in a bid to have a computer examined.
Binnie said there was evidence on the device, some of which related to items he had sold on Gumtree, including vehicles.
He said, having lost his passwords, he had to visit the shop in person for staff to unlock it because he is the registered owner.
At his latest hearing, Binnie appeared without lawyers and told judge Stirling he was not in a position to proceed with the action so a full hearing will now take place on December 14.
SIM-ply a waste of time?
The killer of Trainspotting 2 star Bradley Welsh questioned a sheriff over the “public interest” in prosecuting him and other inmates for “minor” contraband offences. Sean Orman‘s outburst came amid a rash of such court cases, including Dundee woman Amanda Fleming, who tried to smuggle SIMs into Perth prison in a crisp bag.
Compensation, not custody
An Arbroath man must repay his mum £250 after taking her bank card to a cash machine after a night of drinking.
Kyle Fairweather, 33, returned to Forfar Sheriff Court, having admitted the theft in June.
Fiscal depute Stephanie Hendry explained Fairweather, his partner and his mother had been drinking alcohol at the latter’s Arbroath home into the early hours of June 16.
His mother went to bed but got up at 5.45am to find the couple still in the living room.
She saw her purse lying open and checked her online banking app.
It showed £250 had been withdrawn from the ATM at Morrison’s an hour and 15 minutes earlier.
Solicitor Billy Rennie said: “He’s recently started work last week, working in a local factory.
“He’s quite candid in saying he’s had difficulty with alcohol and drugs.”
Sheriff Mark Thorley imposed a compensation order and fined Fairweather, of Emislaw Drive in Arbroath, £300 – plus another £300 after he admitted breaching a bail order.
The sheriff said: “The alternative was the imposition of custody.”
For more local court content visit our dedicated page, or join us on Facebook.
