A thug who teamed up with an unknown assailant to firebomb a family’s SUV in a rural Fife village has been sentenced.
John Wishart smashed the window of a Nissan Qashqai parked on Crawford Terrace in Springfield, north-east Fife, before his accomplice set the car alight through the broken window.
No motive was identified for Wishart’s offending, which took place less than a month after his prison licence ended.
Wishart, who once deployed a taser at police during a disturbance outside a bar in Leven, was placed on a curfew and ordered to complete unpaid work.
Guilty
Wishart, of Balgarvie Crescent, Cupar, denied the charge but was found guilty of wilful fire-raising on June 19 2023 by a majority of jurors at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
Tthe 48-year-old was found to have set fire to the Qashqai while acting with others.
Sentencing had been deferred for reports and when Wishart returned to the dock, solicitor David McLaughlin explained he had been released from his last prison sentence in November 2022 and his six-month licence period came to an end less than a month before the firebombing.
He said his client maintains his innocence and has no analogous convictions.
Unclear if gang-related
Sentencing, Sheriff Robert More said: “The incident in part was captured on home CCTV.
“That footage showed that in the early hours of the morning, two persons approached the vehicle, the first proceeding to smash the driver’s window before the second set the inside of the vehicle alight.
“The Crown case was that you were not the person who set the fire but who smashed the vehicle window.
“Although you did not set the fire, it was clear this was concerted crime.
“Had the (other person’s) identity been known, there would therefore be no reason to differentiate between you.
“The culpability involved in your conduct is high, the vehicle was no longer useable.
“No motive was advocated for the commission of the crime. I am unable to detail if the crime was gang-related.”
No jail in interest of justice
Sheriff More noted the offence could merit an 18-month prison sentence but that would mean Wishart would likely be liberated after 220 days.
The sheriff instead, as a direct alternative to imprisonment, imposed a 220 day restriction of liberty order, keeping Wishart at home between 9pm and 6.30am.
He also ordered Wishart to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
The sheriff added: “Since your last release, you have succeeded in securing a stability in your life.
“You have skills which have enabled you to secure employment.
“The overall interests of justice would not be served by your imprisonment.”
In 2016, Wishart received a prison sentence of five years and three months at the High Court in Glasgow after he confronted police while armed with a 29,000-volt taser.
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