A man who broke into a Fife retirement home and stole food and drink has been jailed for 140 days.
Samuel Martin, 43, of Hendry’s Wynd, Kirkcaldy, appeared from custody at the town’s sheriff court to plead guilty to, on April 2 this year, breaking into the retirement complex occupied by Cairn Housing Association at Aitkin Court, Kirkcaldy, and stealing food and drink.
Prosecutor Christine Allan said Martin forced open the front door in the early hours of the morning.
He made his way to the lounge and started “eating multiple foodstuffs”.
Martin walked around and returned to the lounge to continue eating.
Ms Allan said the value of the food was about £4.
Staff observed the mess in the lounge and contacted police.
Defence lawyer Martin McGuire said Martin’s actions were caught on CCTV but his client has no recollection of being there.
He said Martin, who developed schizophrenia in his late 30s, is already serving a six-month custodial sentence for theft. He was not on medication at the time.
The sheriff jailed him for 140 days.
Fiend to be deported
A second man has been jailed for sexually assaulting a teenager transported from Romania to a Kirkcaldy flat to be forced into prostitution.
Alexandru Lache has finally been brought to justice almost six years after terrifying a vulnerable woman in a Pratt Street flat.
Above drink and drug-drive limit
A driver who crashed into a parked car was found to be more than three times the alcohol limit and almost 10 times the limit for cocaine.
Connor Reilly‘s solicitor told Dundee Sheriff Court his client had been taking cocaine so he could drink more alcohol before the accident on January 6 this year.
Reilly, 25, from Monifieth, admitted driving with excess alcohol (159mgs/ 50) and cocaine metabolite Benzoylecgonine (516mics/ 50).
Solicitor David Duncan, defending, said: “He collided with a parked car in the course of driving.
“He expects to bear some of the financial consequences of the collision.
“He had developed a pretty all-encompassing alcohol difficulty and the cocaine use was essentially a by-product of that.
“The consumption of that drug allows the individual to effectively consume more alcohol.
“I believe that’s the case – it allows the individual to function longer.
“Fortunately, he has been able to deal with his issues. He is back living at home with a bit more support and supervision.
“He feels very bad and quite embarrassed about it and blames nobody but himself.”
Sheriff Neil Kinnear said: “I am pleased to hear you have recognised you have had a problem with drink and drugs and you have addressed that.”
He banned Reilly from driving for two years and fined him £700.
Not ‘normal’
Fife nurse Mark Rebustes, who blamed Filipino “culture” for a video that showed him indecently touching a young child, has been ordered to perform unpaid work.
During his trial, the 40-year-old claimed an indecent video in which he featured was “normal” in his homeland.
Red mist ‘stramash’
A man walloped two males with a wooden stick on Arbroath high street after a dispute about how fast he worked.
First offender Ivan Georgiev, 34, previously appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court aided by a Bulgarian interpreter to admit assaulting the father and son on July 27 2024, injuring both.
Georgiev, of Lordburn in Arbroath, admitted he ran towards his first victim while brandishing a wooden stick and repeatedly struck him on the head and body with it.
He lunged towards the second victim and struck him on the head and body with the stick.
Fiscal depute Jill Drummond explained Georgiev and his first victim had had a fall-out about the man working faster than him.
Solicitor Billy Rennie said: “They were work colleagues and remain so.
“There’s been nothing since and no issues between him and the complainers.
“This seems to be an incident in which he’s completely overreacted to something he considered quite serious – allegations against his character in the workplace.
“Thankfully there’s no injury of any significant note.
“It’s very much a stramash. He’s lived here for four years, he’s been very concerned about the outcome.”
Sheriff Clair McLachlan fined first offender Georgiev £790 altogether for the “out of character” crime.
She said: “I’ve seen and heard of many incidents of the red mist descending.
“This is certainly one of the most extreme examples of that.”
Armed raids
A career criminal who carried out three armed raids on Dundee shops after being freed early from prison has been jailed for almost seven years.
James Donoghue – who had already racked up 55 convictions – struck twice at the Greens Local store in Albert Street and at the SK News shop in King Street.
‘Hide your bruises’
Kieran Inglis, 24, of Kirkland Walk, Methil, told his partner to wear glasses and let her hair down to hide bruising caused by him repeatedly punching her in the face.
He appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to engaging in a course of abusive behaviour at an address in Rosyth and elsewhere last year.
Prosecutor Annie MacDonald told the court that in the early hours one morning last year, the victim woke feeling unwell and objected to Inglis smoking so he broke her mobile phone against a wall.
“She asked him to leave immediately which resulted in him turning and punching her to the face, striking her on the right cheek and knocking her to the floor”.
Ms MacDonald said the woman felt she was struck more than once but managed to get up from the floor and Inglis left.
He returned a few hours later to talk about what happened.
The fiscal continued: “During the conversation, he told her she should wear glasses and let her hair down to cover the bruising and swelling visible on her face.”
Later that day, the victim’s mother commented on her daughter’s injuries and the couple pretended not to know anything about them but later, Inglis told the woman: “I think your mum is on to me.”
The next day she asked Inglis if she could use his phone to call her mother.
He refused and they argued again until Inglis left and there was no further contact.
The court heard the woman later discovered £50 had been moved, without her authorisation, from her account to a payee in the name of Inglis and she was locked out of her personal emails and unable to access information on a new phone.
Inglis’ defence lawyer said his client accepts his offending behaviour and apologises.
He was placed on a structured deferred sentence for two months, with a further hearing date set for August 13 and banned from contacting the woman for two years.
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