A man was left severely injured after being attacked at a taxi rank in Dundee.
Connor Coutts was the victim of an assault on March 11 this year at the Argyllgait rank.
Callum Heenan, 23, has now admitted responsibility for causing Mr Coutts to suffer severe injury by repeatedly punching him on the head and using his knee to strike his head.
In the same incident, 20-year-old Rhys Heenan repeatedly punched another man, Gavin Byars, on the head.
The Heenans, both of Finlaggan Crescent, pled guilty by letter to the offences at Dundee Sheriff Court.
Sheriff Clair McLachlan deferred sentence until later this month for them to appear in person.
Side-hustle busted
A businessman from Perth with a side hustle in drug-dealing was snared after Border Force intercepted cannabis packages worth tens of thousands of pounds destined for Dundee. Suhail Akhtar, 44, director of a now-defunct retail firm, has admitted running a £42,500 drugs operation from his home in Perth.
Friendly plea rejected
An Angus amputee caught growing cannabis at home for pain relief will miss a hotly-anticipated glamour Rangers friendly after being placed on a curfew.
Adam Walker returned to the dock at Forfar Sheriff Court to be sentenced after admitting producing the Class B drug at his home in the town’s Chapel Street on January 30 last year.
The 37-year-old’s home was raided by police, who found evidence of five plants and associated electric equipment.
His solicitor Sarah Russo said: “He is an amputee and suffers from chronic pain.
“The cultivation of these plants related to pain management.
“His medication issues are now resolved, his pain is more or less under control.
“He does accept this is a matter of criminality.
“It was not for financial gain, it was for personal use.”
Ms Russo explained her client has not used heroin for three years.
Sheriff Clair McLachlan imposed a nine-week restriction of liberty order, keeping Walker indoors from 7pm to 7am as an alternative to custody.
She said: “I’m glad to hear you’ve got your medication regulated.
“It is, however, a matter of criminality – it requires to be marked.”
Ms Russo asked for a reprieve on July 20 – when Rangers play Manchester United at Murrayfield – for Walker to take his son to the football match in Edinburgh for his birthday.
This request was rejected by the sheriff.
Lucky miss
A travelling salesman has been told he was lucky to avoid ploughing his Tesla into a family-of-four during a dodgy overtaking manoeuvre on a busy Kinross-shire road. Colin Henderson, 62, said he made a “misjudgement” when he tried to pass a HGV on the A977 in December 2022, into the path of the oncoming car.
Suspicious student
A student was found to be more than three times the drink-drive limit after police became suspicious of a headlight mishap.
Sibelius Erskine-Smith‘s actions behind the wheel on West Sands Road in St Andrews saw him hauled into a police office.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how police were on patrol shortly before 1am on May 4 this year and became aware of a car’s full beam being turned on and off.
Erskine-Smith, 25, of Abbey Wall Road in Pittenweem, was stopped and was smelling of alcohol. He failed a roadside test and later provided an excess alcohol reading (74mics/ 22).
After being cautioned and charged, he replied: “I just want to get out as soon as possible.”
After pleading guilty to drink-driving, his solicitor Dewar Spence said the first offender studies abroad but had been seconded to a placement in Scotland at the time.
He was fined £330 and disqualified for 12 months.
Blow-out
A Dundee man has been jailed after blowing up someone else’s BMW in Lochee, destroying two other vehicles in the process. Hapless, soot-covered crook David Hills told a witness, “I didn’t mean it” after the dramatic incident near High Street in February 2022.
Shoplifter abuse
A shoplifter told police their children should be killed in a car crash.
Graham Lynch, 43, launched into a vile rant while locked in a cell at Dunfermline police station
Fiscal depute Stephanie Paterson said Lynch, of Avenue Road, Kinross, was taken into custody on May 31.
“He began behaving aggressively, he hacked up mucus from the back of his throat and a spit hood was applied.
“He shouted to police that he would ‘punch their f***ing c*** in.’
“He said he knew the officer had kids and said: ‘I hope something bad happens to them’.”
Lynch added: “Karma is good”, then: “They should be killed in a car crash.”
Lynch also admitted stealing more than £50 of alcohol from the Co-op in Bridge of Earn on May 22 and 24 this year.
Solicitor Pauline Cullerton, defending, said he resorted to theft after someone stole his bipolar medication.
“An individual he knows gave him alcohol as a substitution,” she said.
Sheriff Grant McCulloch fined Lynch £350 and ordered him to pay £57 compensation to the shop.
He added: “I was tempted to send you to custody for what you said to police, but times in prisons are hard enough.”
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