The sentencing of a Dundee pair who admitted racially abusing Humza Yousaf the day he became First Minister was deferred for a month because one is working offshore.
Carl O’Brien, 25, bombarded the office of Stewart Hosie MP with abusive phone calls about Mr Yousaf on February 24, before turning up in person with co-accused Tracie Currie and making more offensive remarks, while she filmed him.
O’Brien also made a similarly abusive call to the Dundee office of Shona Robison MSP that day.
The Courier told on Monday how the pair were arrested on Seagate early the following morning after racially abusing a pair of passing strangers in front of police.
Currie, 35, then made violent threats and racist remarks at the police station.
Currie and O’Brien pled guilty to targeting Mr Yousaf with racist abuse .
O’Brien admitted repeatedly phoning the Dundee SNP parliamentary office to make offensive remarks.
They were due to be sentenced on Tuesday but O’Brien was unavailable due to his work so they will be dealt with next month.
‘Moment of stupidity’
Welder Daniel Redfern sparked a major blaze in the Perthshire countryside after setting fire to a bush in a “moment of stupidity”. Firefighters tackled 10-foot flames at a burning field at Little Glenshee after the then-teenager’s wilful fireraising.
Police struggle
A trainee HGV driver has been fined after jurors convicted him of kicking off at officers at Dundee’s Police HQ.
Paul Scully was acquitted of two serious assaults on bouncers at Rewind Nightclub, alleged to have been committed on October 16 2021.
However, after being taken to West Bell Street station, he was found to have acted in a threatening or abusive manner towards police.
The 43-year-old former Michelin factory worker repeatedly shouted, swore and made offensive remarks, while subject to two bail orders.
At Forfar Sheriff Court, Sheriff Krista Johnston said: “It was unnecessary and unreasonable that you acted in the particular way you did.”
The sheriff fined Scully £250, plus a £20 victim surcharge.
Whisky crash
A motorist whose car ended up facing the wrong way on a Perth bridge was discovered with an almost empty bottle of whisky clamped between her thighs. Nina Kaczynska, 29, had downed nearly all the Bell’s whisky from the half-bottle when her car was found pinned against railings on the bridge over the main railway line at 6.45am.
Jailed for rape
Methil man Cameron Whitley was jailed for five years at the High Court in Aberdeen.
Whitley, 29, was convicted last month of raping a woman at a house in Leven after meeting her on a night out in September 2019.
At the sentencing hearing, Whitley’s defence counsel Brian Gilfedder, asked Lord Weir to consider his client’s “good character” and good behaviour prior to a previous stalking offence, before which he had “never been in any trouble”.
In February 2022, Whitley was admonished at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court after repeatedly messaging and calling his partner between October 9 and 21 2021.
He blamed a speech-to-text function on his phone but pled guilty to a charge of engaging in a course of conduct that caused the woman alarm.
Lord Weir, passing sentence in Aberdeen, said he had taken into account all that had been said on Whitley’s behalf and noted the character references submitted.
He said: “The jury accepted that you had sexual intercourse with the victim while she was intoxicated and she could not give consent.
“I have considered carefully all that has been said about your behaviour, as well as your background and note that you are well regarded at your place of work.
“This was a vulnerable victim, the impact for which has been significant and persistent.
“You maintain your denial for the offence.
“I am sentencing you to five years, backdated to August 23 when you put on remand.
“You will remain subject to the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.”
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