A brazen crook nicked and guzzled bottles of alcohol from a city hotel before threatening to murder police officers who found him slumped on the street.
James Donoghue, 38, launched the foul-mouthed tirade following a Valium binge just four days after being released from prison.
Concerned members of the public contacted the police after seeing Donoghue – a serial offender – unresponsive near the Queen’s Hotel on Nethergate.
It was later established that Donoghue had been sneaking alcoholic drinks from the hotel bar before making off with a crate of booze, which he was lying next to on the ground.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how officers took Donoghue to Ninewells Hospital and questioned him about the crate after he was released without treatment.
However, this did not sit well with the lout who told the police to “**** off” and stated while in handcuffs: “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to slit your throats.”
Prosecutor Stewart Duncan said: “The accused began to repeatedly spit but not directly at the officers. During a search, they found a kitchen knife in the waistband of his trousers.
“He was taken to police headquarters where he was still acting aggressively and spitting on doors. He said he was ‘banking razorblades’ and as a result, he was kept under observation.”
Mr Duncan added: “He said he would ‘murder them’ and ‘slit their throats.’
“Further inquiries were later carried out and it was established he had stolen the alcohol from the bar area of the hotel 45 minutes beforehand. This was captured on CCTV and no entry was forced to the premises.”
Donoghue, a prisoner of HMP Perth, pleaded guilty to stealing a crate of alcohol from the Queen’s Hotel, possessing a knife and repeatedly shouting, swearing, acting aggressively and repeatedly threatening to kill police officers on November 16 last year.
Defence solicitor Anne Duffy said Donoghue had become institutionalised following many stints in prison and had little recollection of the incident due to the drugs and alcohol he consumed.
She told Sheriff Linda Smith how Donoghue had managed to enter the bar area while unsuspecting staff members were working.
Donoghue was jailed for 18 months.
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