A 50-year-old man wound up in custody after a three-year-old dispute over a £2,000 window cleaning round.
Kevin Brown was hauled into the dock at Dundee Sheriff Court after previously failing to appear.
He had admitted threatening a rival with violence in a phone message on July 13 2021.
Prosecutor Ewan Chalmers said there was previous agreement for the man to take over the round but the remaining balance had not been paid.
Brown, of Helmsdale Avenue, said in the message: “If I see you out cleaning windows you and your car are getting smashed.”
Sheriff Gregor Murray fined him £100 following the custody appearance.
Soldiers attack
A pair of Leuchars-based soldiers admitted their roles in a concerted attack on a St Andrews Open Championship worker during a night out. Ian Gunn and Scott Burns appeared in the dock together at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court to admit the attack in the early hours of July 13 2022.
Registration failure
A convicted Fife paedophile who is on the sex offenders register for life has been ordered to be of good behaviour after admitting failing to meet his notification requirements.
David Soutar, of Katrine Crescent in Kirkcaldy was jailed for three years and made subject to the indefinite notification requirements in March 2022 after a jury convicted him of taking or making indecent images of children.
If all the twisted video files on Soutar’s devices – including footage recorded in the 1970s and converted from VHS – were played back-to-back, the run-time would be three days.
The 58-year-old, formerly of Methil, returned to the dock at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court to be sentenced having failed to comply with notification requirements between July and August in 2024.
Solicitor Alistair Burleigh said his client had attended at a police station on a Saturday during the 12-day period to try to fulfil his duty but the station had been closed.
Sheriff Mark Allan deferred sentencing until November 24.
Cat burglar
A crook was caught red-handed during a Dundee break-in when the householders’ cats began acting strangely. John Harris fled after being confronted by a woman who screamed when she found him in her living room but was caught nearby.
Torched Ring bell
A Perth woman who torched her neighbour’s doorbell camera with a lighter has been released from prison.
Susan Reid was remanded at Perth Justice of the Peace Court after appearing on Easter Saturday to answer a warrant.
She admitted vandalising the £60 camera on her Bute Drive neighbour’s home by holding a lighter to it on June 10 2023, while on bail.
The camera’s owner received notifications just after midnight when Reid, 33, held a lighter to it.
Solicitor Linda Clark explained Reid had complained about the camera pointing at her home.
She said: “She’s been in custody all this time.
“Her neighbour wasn’t prepared to budge. He has moved elsewhere.”
JP Andrew Kirkpatrick admonished Reid and said: “At the end of the day, you’ll appreciate what you did was wrong.
“Having spend the best part of six weeks in prison, that is I think, quite a significant punishment.”
Alarming exposures
A Fife man found guilty of “alarming” his village neighbours by twice exposing himself at his front door claims he was urinating because he could not get upstairs to his toilet. The story told by Douglas Keir, 68, was backed by his carers but he was convicted.
Punched nurse
A staff nurse at Perth’s Murray Royal hospital was left with a bloodied nose and swollen lip when a patient from Arbroath delivered an uppercut to her face.
Adrian Palmer appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court to be sentenced, having admitted attacking the employee at the Moredun Ward on March 10 in 2022.
Depute fiscal Jill Drummond told the court “agitated” Palmer, 67, was being led out of the ward as staff dealt with medication.
“All of a sudden, he’s moved towards the complainer and punched her towards the face with an uppercut, causing her nose to bleed.”
The nurse activated her personal alarm and police were contacted.
Palmer told them: “I was trying to defend myself.”
Palmer, of Cliffview Court, admitted assault to injury. His case began on petition but was reduced to a summary complaint.
Solicitor Billy Rennie said: “He accepts it’s not a legal self-defence. To some extent he felt provoked.
“He does recognise that he needs to manage his temper better.”
Sheriff Paul Ralph fined Palmer £210 and ordered him to pay the nurse £600, saying: “We can’t have behaviour like that when people are trying to help you.”
Fined after fall
A roofing firm was fined a four-figure sum after an apprentice plummeted five metres while scraping moss from a Perth home, suffering a fractured left ankle, a shattered right heel and a dislocated shoulder. The court heard it was the first breach by Methven-based BG Roofing.
Drug values disputed
A 64-year-old Dunfermline man caught with 20g of heroin and 3g of cocaine has been fined £1,000.
James Donnelly, 64, of Broomhead Drive, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to plead guilty to possession of the class A drugs at his home on July 14 2023.
Prosecutor Brogan Moffat told the court a search warrant was executed at the property and the drugs, worth around £1200 in total, were recovered.
Defence lawyer Liam Kildare referred to a police report in stating the range of values for the heroin was between £540 and £970.
Sheriff Paul Ralph told Donnelly: “You don’t need me to tell you that someone of your age should really know better”.
The sheriff noted the offences were nearly two years old and fined Donnelly a total of £1000.
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