A man who hand delivered a letter to staff at a health centre threatening to kill them after taking a potentially lethal drug by mistake has been jailed.
Mark Law, 40, of Provost Road, was remanded in custody by Sheriff John Rafferty after admitting the charge at Dundee Sheriff Court.
The court heard Law had a grudge against the NHS – and staff at Wallacetown Health Practice in particular – as he believed he had received poor treatment from them.
A mix-up over what drugs he was taking, plus his mental condition, led to his “bizarre” behaviour.
Fiscal depute Laura Bruce told the court a receptionist found the letter and handed it to a member of staff at the practice and police were contacted.
She said: “The letter opened with ‘My name is Mark Law and I am declaring my intention to commit murder’. He repeated that and said he intended to commit violence against NHS staff.
“‘I hope you can catch me, I will never in my life stop, perhaps delay, but never stop’.
“Then he outlined that he felt his psychiatric treatment had been unfair and he listed in the letter a number of NHS staff, saying: ‘This is not a hit list’, but it was outlining those he thought were bullying him.”
The fiscal said he was captured on CCTV and when police traced him in Euclid Crescent he told them: “This will be about the letter and I meant it.”
She said he was taken to Ninewells Hospital and while there he said to the officers: “Pity I got lifted, I wanted to get hold of that **** and cut her right open.”
Law’s solicitor Anne Duffy told the court he suffered from mental health difficulties, including having been diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder and on the day had also taken what he believed to be heroin. However, it was in fact fentanyl, which had caused a drug-induced psychosis.
Law admitted that on June 14 2018, at Wallacetown Medical Practice, Lyon Street, he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause fear or alarm, and delivered a letter containing abusive remarks regarding NHS staff and threats to kill NHS staff.
Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC jailed Law for four months and 10 weeks after he also admitted breaching a restriction of liberty order by being outwith his home between 7pm-7am.
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