A 42-year-old Kirkcaldy man has admitted stealing booze from a Co-op store on Hogmanay.
Robert Burns pled guilty via his defence lawyer to stealing two bottles of alcohol from the shop in Kirkcaldy’s Lauder Road on December 31 2022.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard the value of the alcohol was £34 and that £17 worth was recovered.
Sheriff Timothy Niven-Smith deferred sentence on Burns, of Valley Gardens, until November 22 for personal appearance.
Shamed ex-cop guilty again
A former policeman is facing prison for a second time after carrying out sex attacks on a teenage air cadet more than 40 years ago. Colin Fowler, 81, carried out two indecent assaults after inviting the boy to his then-home in Anstruther and offering him drink. He has previously been jailed for similar assaults.
Scheme ‘runaround’
A teenager who pranged a “scheme runaround” in Angus has admitted driving while disqualified.
Prisoner Jayden Robertson was brought to Forfar Sheriff Court to admit three offences on June 21 last year.
Fiscal depute Jill Drummond explained 18-year-old Robertson crashed a black Saab into a Volkswagen Beetle on the U317 road between Sheilhill and Kellas, at the junction with the C6 between Burnside of Duntrune and Westhall.
He left the scene but was identified by the DNA on airbags which were deployed.
Robertson, of Findhorn Street in Dundee, was banned and uninsured at the time, and had passengers.
He also admitted failing to exchange details with the motorist he collided with.
Ms Drummond said police described Robertson’s car as a “scheme runaround.”
Solicitor Doug McConnell explained his client will not be released from jail until March and received a 15-month driving ban in August.
“He’d got in with the wrong crowd,” Mr McConnell said.
Sheriff Derek Reekie ordered a report and deferred sentencing until December 21.
School worker’s child images
An Angus school IT technician was arrested at his workplace after police were tipped off he had child abuse images on his home computer. Ronald Graham had more than 7,000 depraved pictures on his PC of children as young as two being sexually abused.
Begged for prison
A Fife man turned up at Dunfermline police station with two knives, begging to be jailed weeks after being released from a prison sentence.
William Vanbeck, who was previously jailed after arriving at the Levenmouth station with a blade and the same request, admitted possessing the offensive weapons last month.
Vanbeck, 44, who appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court via a video link from HMP Perth where he is remanded, was not granted his prison wish immediately.
Sheriff James Williamson deferred sentencing until December 5 for reports.
Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson said Vanbeck arrived at the station at 10.55pm on October 9 with a kitchen knife in each hand.
He was heard banging on the custody suite area shouting: “I just want to go to jail.”
When police asked if he had a reasonable excuse for having the blades, he said: “I am guilty, I just want to do anything to get back to prison.”
Solicitor Elizabeth Dryburgh said: “Mr Vanbeck is a man that struggles in the community.
“He struggles to receive support.
“I think he was only at liberty for less than a month. I know he’s dependent on alcohol.”
Sheriff Williamson said: “I’m a bit uncomfortable about going down the route of endless (prison) sentences… I suspect inevitably it will be prison.”
Last February, Vanbeck admitted a similar offence on Christmas Day 2021.
He arrived at Levenmouth Police Station on December 25 carrying a knife with a 13-inch blade.
Vanbeck held up the knife and tapped it on the window before placing it on the sill.
On that occasion, a ten-month prison sentence was imposed.
Murder trial begins
Fife man David Barnes, 33, has gone on trial accused of murdering father-of-three Ean Coutts and attempting to set fire to his body at the Glenrothes industrial park. It is alleged he used his stolen bank card to go on a spending spree and posed as his alleged victim to get Viagra on prescription. Barnes denies all charges. The first day of the trial heard how the skeletal remains were found at the industrial park.
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